National bank and thrift servicers implemented more than 680,000 home loan modifications and payment plans in the third quarter of 2009 to avoid preventable foreclosures, according to a report released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). The OCC and OTS Mortgage Metrics Report for the Third Quarter 2009 showed that the number represented a nearly 69 percent increase in home retention actions from the previous quarter.Read more

The federal financial institution regulatory agencies will host a free interagency telephone seminar on Prudent Commercial Real Estate Loan Workouts (Workout Guidance) on Thursday, December 3 at 2:00 p.m. EST. Many financial institutions have expressed interest in the Workout Guidance released on Oct.Read more

The Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) is on the way and its gestation stage will not be as long as many expect.¹ Although its nascence will endure the inevitable crucible of politics churned out by the Congress, federal and state regulatory bodies, bank and non-bank industry lobbyists, and eminent legal scholars,² the actors in this drama seem to argue, at one extreme, for a CFPA with robust oversight and regulatory enforcement authorities, and, at the other extreme, some kind of oversight agency that reviRead more

Eight federal regulatory agencies have released a final model privacy notice form that will make it easier for consumers to understand how financial institutions collect and share information about consumers. Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act), institutions must notify consumers of their information-sharing practices and inform consumers of their right to opt out of certain sharing practices.Read more

The federal bank and thrift regulatory agencies have issued a final rule providing that mortgage loans modified under the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP) will generally retain the risk weight appropriate to the mortgage loan prior to modification.

The agencies adopted as final their interim final rule issued on June 30, 2009, with one modification. The final rule clarifies that mortgage loans whose HAMP modifications are in the trial period, and not yet permanent, qualify for the risk-based capital treatment contained in the rule.Read more

Actions to keep Americans in their homes grew by almost 22 percent during the second quarter of 2009, according to a report released today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). The latest OCC and OTS Mortgage Metrics Report showed that difficult economic conditions resulted in higher rates of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures in process, which increased to 8.5 percent and 2.9 percent of all serviced mortgages, respectively, but as the Administration’s “Making Home Affordable” program got underway Read more

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testified before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, focusing on the Obama Administration's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).Read more

► The Wall Street Journal posted on Aug. 27: Mortgage Fraud: A Classic Crime's Latest Twists: As 'Reverse' Loans Grow More Popular, Scams Put Older Adults at Risk ...Read more