Legislation
FDIC Says Mortgages Retain Risk-Weight After HAMP
The federal bank and thrift regulatory agencies issued a final rule that mortgage loans modified under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) retain the risk weight appropriate to the loan before modification.
Under HAMP, the US Treasury Department allocates funds to participating servicers for the modification of loans on the verge of foreclosure.
The final rule (available [...]
New law denies homeowners access to legal representation
California has a new law on the books that bans collection of advance fees from firms that provide loan modification services to people struggling to avoid foreclosure.
Other real estate related bills signed into law this month by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger aim to crack down on abusive lending practices by mortgage brokers; provide more safeguards for [...]
No bar to attorneys’ fees under TILA
A car buyer whose damages under the Truth in Lending Act were slashed by the Supreme Court is nevertheless entitled to attorneys’ fees for that portion of his otherwise “successful action,” the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held.
The decision affirms a fee award of more than $80,000 to Bradley Nigh, who claimed Koons [...]
U.S. partners in home loan modifications accused of broad abuses
WASHINGTON — Billions of dollars that the government is spending to help financially pressed homeowners avert foreclosure are passing through — and enriching — companies accused of preying on the people they are supposed to help, an Associated Press investigation has found.The companies, known as mortgage servicers, collect monthly payments from homeowners and funnel the [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY v. ROLANDO CAMPBELL, et al.
Deutsche Bank has some explaining to do. Why would they buy a nonperforming loan from MERS 142 days after a payment default?
The instant foreclosure application states that defendant CAMPBELL defaulted on his mortgage payments by failing to make his April 1, 2007 and subsequent monthly loan payments. Yet, on August 20, 2007, 142 days subsequent [...]
Why banks want you all alone when negotiating a loan modification
They are telling you to run away from loan modification companies who charge a fee. They are paying the politicians to introduce laws making it difficult for you to hire an attorney when negotiating a loan workout. They want you to contact them directly and without the assistance of an advocate. They are scaring you [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )States gain more power over banks
Reporting from Washington — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that states could enforce some of their consumer protection laws against national banks, a move that could lead to tougher oversight than federal regulators have provided in recent years.
The 5-4 decision in a case involving attempts by New York’s attorney general to enforce fair-lending laws was [...]
FTC halts mortgage operation for misrepresentation of loss mitigation
At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has halted a bogus mortgage foreclosure prevention operation that misrepresented both the “loss mitigation” services it offered and the earnings potential of the business opportunity it sold. The FTC seeks to end this deceptive scheme and make the defendants give up their ill-gotten gains.
According [...]
Why Did a NYT Economics Reporter Take On $805,700 In Subprime Debt?
That’s the question that New York Times economics reporter Edmund L. Andrews tries to answer about himself in a new piece for the Times Magazine, which is being previewed on the website this week. And it must be some species of triumph that Andrews manages to make a story about refinancing a complicated mortgage a [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )American Consumer & Predatory Lending
Today President Obama is conducting a town hall meeting in New Mexico focusing on the issue of credit card debt. This is a welcome turn in the national economic conversation from the plight of big institutions and the financial system to what is perhaps the most important part of the story of the Great Recession [...]
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