Browse by Tags

The Office of Inspector General ( OIG ) for the Federal Housing Finance Agency ( FHFA ) has released critical preliminary findings from an audit conducted on FHFA's oversight of Fannie Mae's default-related legal services. The audit was requested by Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) to examine "widespread allegations of abuse by ...law firms hired to process foreclosures." Fannie Mae established a Retained Attorney Network (RAN) in 1997 to perform default-related legal services for foreclosures...

FHFA Director Edward Demarco is who the mortgage world has been waiting to hear from regarding recent talk of a government-led initiative to expand refinancing options. In last night's speech to a joint session of Congress, although the focus was on jobs, Obama also noted his intention to help "responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages at interest rates that are now near than 4 percent." While this is markedly less extreme than some of the rumors that had been circulating in recent weeks,...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency ( FHFA ), conservator for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the Enterprises) said on Thursday that, while modifications of loans tied to the Enterprises declined in the second quarter of 2011, those modifications continue to be robust . Voluntary home forfeiture actions, both short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure increased as did the pace of REO disposition. The Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report issued by FHFA includes actions taken on Enterprise loans...

Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco told members of Congress last week that increased transparency in mortgage backed securities (MBS) and the implementation of Dodd-Frank Risk Retention regs were top priorities in the process of enticing investors back into the private-label MBS market. DeMarco's remarks came during testimony to the House Subcommittee on TARP, Financial Services and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs hearing on "Transparency as an Alternative to...

This article was originally published in the May issue of Asset Securitization Report (www.sourcemedia.com) As part of a joint initiative , the FHFA and HUD recently released a presentation outlining potential revisions to the current system of servicer compensation. The initiative’s stated goals are 1) improving customer service for borrowers, 2) reducing financial risks for servicers, and 3) helping servicers better manage their pipeline of nonperforming loans (NPLs). In light of the asset’s...

The Federal Reserve, Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), FDIC, and Office of Thrift Supervision (OTC) have issued formal enforcement actions against 14 banking and two loan servicing related organizations which they found had demonstrated a "pattern of misconduct and negligence related to deficient practices in residential mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing." The Fed said that these deficiencies represent significant and pervasive compliance failures and unsafe and unsound...

Fannie Mae has announced a new program to measure and evaluate the performance of its servicers' actions toward helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. The Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards Program or "STAR" is designed to directly link servicer performance in assisting homeowners to the customer's experience with that assistance. In a speech to the Mortgage Bankers Association earlier this week, Edward J. Demarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) signaled that...