TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/222840
Stand Out as an Industry Leader and Present Your Company in the Premier Publication in Mortgage Banking. month in review Holiday Hustle The year is ending with companies hustling to meet CFPB requirements and other agencies drawing a hard line on practices. NOVEMBER 5 Singles, First-Time Buyers Still Struggling with Financing Upcoming MReport Editorial January Feature: Housing Report Card A look at the top 25 MSAs and the bottom 25 MSAs with a discussion on how each one is faring during the recovery. Special Section: Property Valuation Guide Bonus Distribution: » American Securitization Forum theMReport.com Advertise now! Call 214.525.6700 or connect with us online at TheMReport.com. 14 | The M Report Findings released in the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers survey demonstrated what industry experts have been saying since the housing market started to pick up: Access to credit is going to have to loosen before mortgage-dependent homebuyers can make a more meaningful contribution to the recovery. According to NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, conditions are especially restrictive for single and first-time buyers. NOVEMBER 6 Fannie, Freddie Directed to Restrict Force-Placed Insurance Practices Citing concerns about the costs of force-placed insurance for the GSEs and consumers alike, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prohibit servicers from taking reimbursements from insurers providing forced policies. The GSEs will provide aligned guidance to sellers and servicers to prohibit these practices, including implementation schedules. In addition, acting FHFA director Edward DeMarco announced the agency is considering further measures. NOVEMBER 7 CFPB Makes Plans to Act on Debt Collection Practices The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on guidelines related to the debt collection industry. "For decades, many consumers have reported various unacceptable practices in the debt collection industry. Today's action will allow us to hear from the public as we consider what rules are needed," said Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB. The bureau also announced it will begin adding consumer complaints about debt collections to its public database. NOVEMBER 8 Economists Surprised by Drop in Consumer Sentiment The University of Michigan's preliminary Index of Consumer Sentiment report shows a drop in confidence for November—and Capital Economics' Amna Asaf is at a loss to explain why. The index, released jointly by UMich and Thomson Reuters, fell from 73.2 to a two-year low of 72 in the first November report. With the economy in a relatively healthier position compared October, Asaf—an economist for the macroeconomics research firm— says the decline is something of a surprise. NOVEMBER 11 CFPB Issues $13M Consent Order for Utah Lender The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it has issued a proposed consent order in its enforcement action against Castle & Cooke Mortgage, LLC. Under the terms of the order, Castle & Cooke has agreed to pay more than $9.2 million in restitution to consumers and $4 million in civil penalties to settle allegations that two of its officers—president Matthew Pineda and SVP of capital markets Buck Hawkins—paid illegal bonuses to loan officers based on the interest rates of loans offered to borrowers.