Mortgages

FICO discards incomplete and old credit history information for a good reason. The solution to today's credit-access problems is not to use this unreliable data but to turn to alternative data such as the payment of everyday bills.

Community banks will be able originate and sell jumbo loans with balances as high as $1.5 million under an expansion of a conduit program the Chicago Home Loan Bank has forged with Redwood Trust.

Banks and mortgage lenders are in the final stretch of preparing to deliver new TILA-Respa Integrated Disclosures to homebuyers starting Aug. 1. But it's not just the change of forms that is causing alarm bells. Fines could be steep, and legal liability could be even higher, for violators, while necessary technological changes are expensive, they say.

The Supreme Court issued a ruling Monday that said second mortgage liens cannot be voided in bankruptcy, even when the first lien is underwater.

A Florida court on Friday sided with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the state over claims that a law firm charged illegal fees to consumers seeking foreclosure relief.

Provident Funding Associates, a private mortgage lender, has agreed to pay $9 million to settle allegations its brokers charged minorities higher fees and interest rates, federal regulators said Thursday.

New servicing standards issued by the government-sponsored enterprises are unlikely to pose a hurdle for the biggest nonbank players in the market, but small servicers could find it more challenging.

In a sign that the GSEs may once again be trying to compete with each other, Freddie Mac will no longer charge lenders to use its Loan Prospector automated underwriting system.

Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's largest taxpayer-owned lender, could pay as much as $4.5 billion to resolve claims of misconduct in its handling of U.S. mortgage securities, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

At a time when regulators, prosecutors and the media have stepped up their scrutiny of subprime auto lending, some in the industry have changed their definitions of key terms in ways that downplay the risks involved.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., agreed to expand mortgage lending in minority neighborhoods to settle a federal probe into its fair-housing loan practices.

More powerful employment and wage gains are necessary to fuel home purchases, according to mortgage industry economists.

Nonbank servicers selling and buying Fannie and Freddie MSRs must meet new capital and liquidity requirement to transfer servicing.

Capital One Financial is planning to beef up its mortgage lending and has hired industry veteran Desmond Smith to oversee the effort.

VidVerify, a new company started by a co-founder of Lenders One, produces online videos that educate borrowers on the milestones of the mortgage process, while helping lenders ensure regulatory compliance.

WASHINGTON — The Financial Stability Oversight Council is encouraging mortgage agencies to continue clarifying when lenders must repurchase defective loans.

The proposed legislation for regulatory relief seeks to roll back critical mortgage protections put in place to prevent another housing crisis.

The Rural Housing Service should merge with the Federal Housing Administration to save money and improve service, the head of the Government Accountability Office testified Tuesday.

Lost in the debate so far over Shelby's regulatory relief bill are the significant changes it makes to the housing finance system. It essentially takes consensus elements from multiple past stabs at reform, leaving out the most controversial parts and making future reform far easier.