The House Appropriations Committee announced on Wednesday it was providing $55 billion for transportation, housing and urban development next year, with $38.1 billion going to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In total, the bill includes $55.15 billion in discretionary spending – a reduction of $19.8 billion below the President’s request and $217 million [...]

Detailed testimony presented this week by the Mortgage Bankers Association before the House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community outlines concerns regarding changes to the mortgage origination process and the impact of those changes on homeowners and businesses. Those changes, including the Qualified Residential Mortgage Proposal, risk retention requirement, SAFE Act and loan originator [...]

In a recent statement to the Senate Financial Institutions Subcommittee, the American Bankers Association said creating an environment where banks can make good business decisions and take prudent risks is the best way to ensure safety and soundness. “Unfortunately, the pendulum has shifted too far in favor of driving out risk entirely,” ABA said.

The minimum standards for state compliance with the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) were published today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and are now available via the Federal Register for public display. “The SAFE Act sets nationwide standards for licensing of mortgage loan originators and [...]

National Mortgage News reported this week that more than 10 states have revamped mortgage and foreclosure rules by making legislative or regulatory changes. MRG Document Technology, which tracks compliance and rule changes, issued a variety of alerts for several different states; notably, many of these states made changes to foreclosure laws, perhaps in response to rising [...]

Fifteen trade groups together sent a letter last week urging politicians to reconsider the comment period for the proposed rule implementing the Risk Retention and Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) provisions of the Dodd-Frank bill. The comment period for the Risk Retention and provisions, currently open until June 10, should be extended until at least July 22, the [...]