Government

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed an amicus brief on behalf of borrowers for their rights to cancel home equity-loans or second mortgages if they did not receive important disclosures required by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The amicus brief - or ""friend of the court"" - was filed to ensure proper implementation of statutes allowing certain borrowers to rescind on their loans if they notify the lender of their intent to cancel within three years of signing the loan.

After filing false liens against four federal government officials, a Washington state man was sentences to 41 months in prison Monday, the Justice Department and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) announced. Ronald James Davenport of Chewelah, Washington filed more than $20 billion in false liens on properties of a U.S. attorney and the court clerk of the Eastern District of Washington, an assistant attorney, and an IRS revenue officer, according to the evidence presented at trial in December 2009.

John Walsh, acting Comptroller of the Currency, offered an update and clarification Monday on the foreclosure reviews taking place at 14 servicers as part of the consent orders established last year. Independent foreclosure reviews are being instigated in two ways: Consultants are identifying borrowers they believe may have incurred financial harm as a result of improper processing, and borrowers themselves may request a review if they believe they were wronged by their servicers. So far, about 121,000 borrowers have requested reviews.

The FHA released two notices to mortgagees and servicers on Friday regarding new policies in effect. Safeguard Properties aslo posted the announcement on their website. The first reminder is on escrow funds/payoff statements and states that escrow funds should not be used for outside purposes.

Two banks closed over the weekend, raising the national tally of failed FDIC-insured banks to 15 so far this year. Regulators closed Covenant Bank and Trust of Rock Spring, Georgia and Premier Bank of Wilmette, Illinois.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it has filed a subpoena enforcement action with a California federal court against Wells Fargo & Company because the bank has failed to produce documents requested by the SEC. According to the filing, the SEC is investigating possible fraud in connection with Wells Fargo's sale of nearly $60 billion in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) to investors between September 2006 and early 2008.

NPR reported Friday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might consider principal reduction as a means to help underwater homeowners. Edward DeMarco, acting director of the FHFA, has stood firm in his decision to not allow for principal reduction, despite mounting criticism from Democrats and petitioning from organizations to have DeMarco fired. ""NPR and ProPublica have learned that both firms have concluded that giving homeowners a big break on their mortgages would make good financial sense in many cases,"" NPR stated in its story.

Dallas-based mortgage lender AmericaHomeKey (AHK) can no longer do business with the FHA due to repeat violations of FHA requirements, HUD's Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) announced its Friday. AHK can no longer originate and underwrite new mortgages insured by the FHA, and the MRB is imposing $268,000 in penalties.

New homes sales fell 1.6 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 313,000, the second straight monthly decline, the Commerce Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Friday. Sales for January were revised downward from 321,000 to 318,000.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a $4 million settlement with a New York foreclosure law firm due to abuses in its foreclosure-related legal work. Founder of the firm Steven J. Baum, managing partner Brian Kumiega, Pillar Processing are required to pay $4 million to the state of New York. Baum and Kumiega are also barred from handling new foreclosure-related cases for two years. Before shutting most its operations on or about December 31, 2011, the firm was largest foreclosure defense firm in New York, and represented large mortgage servicers including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, HSBC, and Citibank.