News

RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation's residential mortgage servicer ratings have been adjusted, Fitch Ratings confirmed. Fitch determined that RoundPoint's U.S. residential primary servicer rating for subprime product is 'RPS3+' and the U.S. residential special servicer rating is 'RSS3+'. In addition, the rating outlooks have been revised to 'negative' from 'stable.'

The first-time buyer share in April, May, and June was launched to new highs, supported by improvements in the labor market, riskier mortgage lending, and continuing low mortgage rates. The American Enterprise Institute International Center on Housing Risk recently released a report, finding that first-time buyers account for 58.8 percent of primary owner-occupied home purchase mortgages with a government guarantee, up from 57.2 percent the prior June, according to the Agency First-Time Buyer Mortgage Share Index.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finally set an official effective date for the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures rule, after much debate and numerous industry requests to delay the rule. The CFPB issued a final rule moving the effective date to Saturday, October 3, 2015 on Tuesday.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act's fifth anniversary was acknowledged on Tuesday, July 21, 2015, marking five years since this reform act was enacted. As Dodd-Frank turns five, congress members and industry leaders examine just how effective the reform act has been within the government agencies to which it was applied.

Recently released data from S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian shows that default rates across the country and across the financial spectrum aren’t just on a steady decline, they hit new lows in May. According to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices, four of the five cities the companies studied through May reported declines in default rates for the second straight month.

JPMorgan Chase & Co agreed to pay $388 million to resolve a lawsuit by investors who claimed that the U.S. bank provided misleading information about the safety of $10 billion worth of residential mortgage-backed securities it sold before the financial crisis, according to multiple media reports.

The nation’s top eight banks will be held to minimum capital holdings or face stiff surcharges, according to a decision made by the Federal Reserve on Monday. The ruling establishes minimum holdings among what the Fed dubs “global systemically important banks,” or GSIBs, the firms with the most risk-based endeavors.

Morgan Stanley's net revenues reached $9.7 billion for the second quarter ending June 30, 2015, compared with $9.9 billion in the first quarter of 2015 and $8.6 billion a year ago, according to the company’s second quarter earnings statement released Monday. Morgan Stanley noted that their revenues for the second quarter reflect robust performance in equity sales and trading, strong results in investment banking, and continued progress in fixed income and commodities sales and trading.

Appearing as panelists in a discussion at the Bipartisan Policy Center this week titled "Housing Finance Reform: A Status Report," U.S. Congressmen Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) and John Delaney (D-Maryland) both agreed a major reason why such reform has not happened is because the White House has not made it a top priority.

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Rule is one of the rules that is still pending; AAF estimates it will impose another $2.1 billion in final rule costs to go with 90,000 paperwork hours. The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect on August 1, but the CFPB announced this date would be pushed back due to an "administrative error"; the new proposed effective date is October 3.