Government

Despite the recent announcement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to provide a grace period for servicers attempting to comply in good faith with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) requirements that are scheduled to go into effect August 1, lingering TRID concerns remain. The Association of Mortgage Professionals (NAMB) and other housing associations, requested today in a letter that the CFPB implement a hold-harmless period on TRID enforcement. Many housing industry groups are supporting legislation that would above this period, the press release says.

​The American Bankers Association’s (ABA’s) 22nd Annual Real Estate Lending Survey determined that 90 percent of the typical bank’s mortgage loans made last year were qualified mortgages (QMs). The survey also found that 78 percent of respondents expect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) mortgage lending rules will continue to limit credit availability, while 19 percent labeled the impact as severe.

A new survey of housing attitudes released by the MacArthur Foundation found that a majority of Americans believe the country is still not past the housing crisis that began seven years ago. The 2015 How Housing Matters Survey found that three in five Americans believe we are “still in the middle” of the housing crisis or “the worst part is yet to come” of the crisis.

Today, in joint release the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) agencies issued a final interagency policy statement establishing joint standards for assessing the diversity policies and practices of the entities they regulate.

Freddie Mac recently announced that Sean Becketti, an executive with broad experience in the private sector, government, and academia was selected to be VP and chief economist for the GSE, according to a press release. In his role as chief economist, he will be expected to lead a team that forecasts mortgage and housing market trends and conducts analysis and research on economic and policy issues affecting Freddie Mac.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro is scheduled to testify before the full House Financial Services Committee on Thursday, June 11, for the second time since becoming the nation's top housing official in July 2014.

Law360's John Kennedy reported that a New York state jury found Abacus Federal Savings Bank not guilty of residential mortgage fraud, falsifying business records, and grand larceny charges on Thursday, a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.'s office confirmed to the site.

According to a recent press release, Rep. Steve Israel (D-New York) and Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pennsylvania) have introduced bipartisan legislation to help improve efforts to end homelessness among our nation’s veterans. The Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund Act of 2015 or H.R. 2591, creates the Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund, according to the release. If this legislation is passed, taxpayers will have a chance to help keep nearly 50,000 veterans off the streets by making an optional contribution to the fund on their federal income tax return form.

Amidst the positive May job reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), consumer attitudes concerning the housing market showed vast improvement for the month of May, according to results from Fannie Mae's May 2015 National Housing Survey. These positive changes also support the case for an increase in housing activity this year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a complaint in federal district court against RPM Mortgage, Inc. and its CEO, Erwin Robert Hirt, for illegally paying loan originators bonuses and higher commissions to encourage them to draw consumers toward higher mortgages, according to a recent press release. The CFPB also filed a proposal that would require RPM to pay $18 million to consumers and a $1 million civil penalty.