“We will be relentless in our investigation of corporate and financial wrongdoing, and will not hesitate to bring charges, where appropriate, for criminal misconduct on the part of businesses and business executives.” These were the words of Attorney General Eric Holder, quoted in a Nov. 17 press release announcing that President Barack Obama has established, by Executive Order, an interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force whose job is to combat financial crime.Read more

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has proposed new regulations to further reduce risks to its single-family insurance fund as it continues to play a critical role in today's housing market. FHA proposes to increase the net worth requirements of FHA-approved lenders, strengthen lender approval criteria, and make lenders liable for the practices of their correspondent mortgage brokers.Read more

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) have announced that for the first four months of 2010, the staff of the Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) will exercise restraint in enforcing new regulatory requirements under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), due to take full effect on Jan. 1. The MRB instructed its staff to exercise such restraint in considering an action against FHA-approved lenders who have demonstrated that they are making a good faith effort to comply with RESPA's new requirements.Read more

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has announced that its Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) is imposing civil monetary penalties totaling $27,000 on two FHA-approved lenders in Wisconsin and Connecticut for a variety of violations of FHA lending and marketing standards. In addition, the MRB reached tentative settlements with four other lenders and issued two Letters of Reprimand to lenders that HUD alleged violated FHA requirements. “There should be no doubt about the message we’re sending to our lenders,” said FHA Commissioner David Stevens.Read more

DartAppraisal.com, an independent provider of residential real estate valuations, has announced an updated version of its popular DartExpress system to ensure compliance with all Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Mortgagee Letters related to valuations. The technology updates come in advance of the FHA policy changes which will take effect Jan.Read more

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) announced that its Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) is proposing to permanently withdraw the HUD/FHA approval of Financial Mortgage USA Inc., a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM or reverse mortgage) lender based in Honolulu, Hawaii.Read more

On Sept. 18, 2009, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) proposed specific rule-making that is meant to focus on ensuring "responsible lending and risk management" for FHA-approved lenders. The intent of the changes is to assure that lenders have "long-term interest in the performance of the loans they originate." The new rule-making proposals, if promulgated, will be effective on Jan. 1, 2010. If promulgated, the bill would take effect Jan. 1, 2010.Read more