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Montana Adopts Changes to Mortgage Licensing Laws
by Paul McSheffrey, J.D.With Senate Bill No. 98, the Montana legislature has recently adopted changes to its state mortgage licensing laws. The amendments include changes to definitions, licensing requirement clarifications, changes to experience requirements, and clarifications to control persons required to meet licensing requirements. Several definitions have been added or changed under 32-9-103. The definition […]
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Fannie Mae Updates Rules for Condos and Borrowers Without Credit Scores
February 24, 2015 Fannie Mae released Ann. SEL-2015-02, Selling Guide Update. The Selling Guide has been updated to include changes to the following:• Clarifications of Project Standards Policies • Reorganization of Co-op Topics • Updated Effective Dates for Pricing and Credit Score Delivery in Announcement SEL-2014-13• Lender Breach of Contract Miscellaneous Selling Guide UpdatesEach of the updates is described […]
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HMDA Compliance News
February 18, 2015, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) published the January 2015 HMDA-CRA Newsletter. Earlier this month on February 9th, the FFIEC’s HMDA site updated the Geocoding System with the 2015 Census boundary definitions. Exemption thresholdAs announced by the CFPB on December 29, 2014, the 2015 exemption threshold for depository institutions was changed […]
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Freddie Mac Updates Selling and Servicing Rules
February 17, 2015 Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2015-2: Selling and Servicing. This Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (“Guide”) Bulletin announces: Selling and Servicing topics Updates to Guide Forms 16SF, Annual Eligibility Certification Report, and 1107SF, Seller/Servicer Change Notification Form, to help Freddie Mac better understand its Seller/Servicers• A new requirement that Seller/Servicers review the Federal Housing Finance Agency […]
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Fannie Mae Launches Collateral Underwriter and Appraiser Quality Monitoring
By Anna DeSimone February 4, 2015, Fannie Mae published Lender Letter LL-2015-02: Appraisal Tools, Processes and Policies. The purpose of the Lender Letter is to provide clarifications and additional information regarding Fannie Mae’s valuation-related tools and policy updates announced within the past 12 to 18 months. These include Collateral Underwriter™ (CU™), Appraiser Quality Monitoring (AQM), […]
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Fannie Mae Updates Appraisal Underwriting Rules
By Anna DeSimoneFebruary 4, 2015, Fannie Mae published Lender Letter LL-2015-02: Appraisal Tools, Processes and Policies. The purpose of the Lender Letter is to provide clarifications and additional information regarding Fannie Mae’s valuation-related tools and policy updates announced within the past 12 to 18 months. These include Collateral Underwriter™ (CU™), Appraiser Quality Monitoring (AQM), and […]
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HUD Updates Equal Access Rules for Marital Status, General Identity, Sexual Orientation
February 2, 2015 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published H 2015-01: Notice of Program Eligibility for HUD Assisted and Insured Housing Programs for All People Regardless of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Marital Status as Required by HUD’s Equal Access Rule. The purpose of the Housing Notice (Notice) is to increase awareness […]
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CFPB Issues Proposal to Boost Lending in Rural, Underserved Areas
By Anna DeSimoneProposal Would Extend Provisions to Cover More Community Banks, Credit Unions, and Other CreditorsJanuary 29, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed several changes to its mortgage rules to facilitate responsible lending by small creditors, particularly in rural and underserved areas. If finalized, the proposal issued would increase the number of financial […]
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New York Adopts Force-Placed Insurance Regulation
By Margaret Wright, J.D.Effective February 6, 2015, New York has adopted regulations concerning force-placed insurance. As a result of an investigation, the New York State Department of Financial Services had found that current force-placed insurance practices were resulting in excessive force-placed insurance rates, inadequate notice to consumers and questionable business practices and relationships.Notice RequirementThe new […]
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Massachusetts Updates Truth in Lending Regulations
By Margaret Wright, J.D.The Code of Massachusetts Regulations Truth in Lending section (209 CMR 32) has recently been amended to align to recent Federal Regulation Z updates. Many states, including Massachusetts, have adopted their own Truth in Lending regulations as permitted to do so where the regulations are substantially similar to Regulation Z and adequately […]
