Mortgages

WASHINGTON — Federal banking regulators are putting pressure on a dozen or more states to begin regulating appraisal management companies within their borders.

Another Bank of America executive has joined Novantas, a maker of financial-analytics software for banks.

Ocwen Financial and Assurant have reached an agreement to settle charges that the embattled mortgage servicer profited from kickbacks on force-placed insurance policies with struggling homeowners.

A mortgage title company and a handful of individuals are being sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Maryland Attorney General related to an alleged mortgage kickback scheme with banks such as Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky today proposed new regulations for the title insurance industry, including restrictions on meal and entertainment expenses.

Flagstar Bancorp in Troy, Mich., beat expectations as it reported stronger mortgage volume in the first quarter. The company reported net income of $31.5 million in the first quarter versus a profit of $11.1 million in the previous quarter and a loss of $78.4 million a year ago.

With low rates tempting more home owners to refinance and relaxed down payment requirements spurring more home sales, bankers are more optimistic about mortgage lending than they have been in some time.

Freddie Mac has planned its first Extended Timeline Pool Offering, the government-sponsored entity announced this week.

Low interest rates may be pressuring margins, but they provided a lift to community banks that sell mortgage originations. Bankers are now debating how long the current refi boom will last.

In another escalation of Quicken Loans' ongoing clash with the government, the Department of Justice on Thursday filed a lawsuit alleging shoddy underwriting by the company.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency is sticking to its schedule and moving quickly to finalize proposed financial requirements for nonbank firms that service Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.

Demographic, cultural and technological changes will reshape customer service in the mortgage business over the next 30 years, a Wells Fargo executive said.

The growth-minded regional bank is biding its time until rates rise and its M&A deals close by slowing riskier types of lending and diversifying its income sources.

Bill Emerson, chief executive of Quicken Loans, said at a recent conference that the threat of government probes and a lack of regulatory clarity are making FHA lending less attractive.

Stock Yards Bancorp in Louisville, Ky., reported much better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter one the strength of higher mortgage revenue and net interest income.

As banks have largely ceded the market for government-backed loans to nonbank lenders and servicers, it's fallen on Ginnie Mae to be sure that these nonbanks can meet their obligations to bondholders. It's a huge concern for President Ted Tozer, who says the company does not have the resources or manpower to examine these firms' finances.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt just made one of the biggest policy decisions of his 14-month tenure — but so far it has hardly caused a ripple on Capitol Hill.

Federal regulators fined the mortgage servicer Green Tree Servicing $63 million in penalties and restitution on Tuesday, alleging that it mistreated borrowers at risk of foreclosure and failed to honor modifications of loans transferred from other servicers.

Cost and margin pressures drove down quarterly profits at Regions Financial in Birmingham, Ala.