Schemes Borrowers Should Avoid
The nation's mortgage brokers have issued advice about how prospective borrowers can avoid predatory lending and other mortgage finance schemes.
Chicago Lenders Back in Business - For Now
A decision by Illinois regulators to delay implementation of new lending laws has, at least temporarily, halted plans by some mortgage brokers and title companies to stop doing business in parts of Chicago.
Ameriquest Settlement May Be Near
Ameriquest Mortgage Co. may settle charges brought on by 33 states and clear a path for the company's billionaire founder to take a job with the U.S. State Department.
Predatory Lending Fueling Buckeye Foreclosures
With Ohio leading the nation in foreclosures, state legislators and the mortgage lending industry are locked in heated battle over how best to protect consumers.
5 Common Broker Schemes
In an analysis of proposed mortgage broker licensing, Colorado regulators have outlined five common schemes used by unscrupulous brokers on unsuspecting borrowers.
FTC Touts Actions Against Mortgage Companies
Several mortgage companies that have either violated privacy rules, preyed on Hispanics or illegally contacted consumers this past year have had to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission.
NY Closing Costs Highest
A survey announced today indicates borrowers in The Empire State pay the highest closing costs, while residents of The Equality State pay the lowest.
Credit Report, Doc Prep Fees Land Lender in Litigation
A Baltimore, Md.-based company has been accused in a class-action lawsuit of charging excessive and illegal fees in connection with second-mortgage loans.
Best Minority Lenders
Mortgage lenders face constant criticism from the press over lending to minorities. But five lenders were recently recognized for their superior performance in lending to minorities.
Southerners See Excessive Subprime
The location of a borrower plays a big role in determining whether that borrower will wind up in a higher priced subprime loan or a lower rate conforming loan, according to a new study by an association of consumer advocate groups.
Wells Softening Nonprime Programs
Wells Fargo is making changes to its nonprime lending programs including capping originations fees, reducing prepayment penalties and shunning mandatory arbitration.
Mortgage Co. Agrees to $150,000 Settlement
A Florida mortgage company has agreed with state regulators to pay $150,000 to settle charges of predatory lending practices and misleading marketing tactics.
Brokers Used Elderly in Fraud Scheme
A group of Mississippi mortgage brokers is facing prison sentences of several hundred years and millions of dollars in fines if convicted of running a scam that targeted elderly homeowners.
Broker Helped Mfg Housing Companies Deceive Borrowers
A mortgage broker, along with two North Carolina manufactured home companies, have been accused by the state's attorney general of using deceptive practices to lure customers into buying properties they couldn't afford.
Predatory Foreclosure Assistance
A Rhode Island company that offered foreclosure assistance has reached an agreement with the attorney general to stop selling homes it purchased from desperate borrowers. State officials hope to have the properties returned to the original owners.
Wells Sued Over Pricing
Wells Fargo & Co. is being sued for allegedly charging higher fees and interest rates to minorities. The plaintiffs, who seek class action certification, say special origination software enabled branches in non-minority neighborhoods to offer lower pricing.
HOEPA Triggers Raised
The dollar amount of fees that trigger high cost loan disclosures has been increased.
IL Predatory Law Raises Privacy Concerns
A recently enacted Illinois state law designed to crack down on predatory lending has raised the ire of the mortgage lending industry.
Ameriquest Settlement Coincides with Bush Nomination
As Ameriquest Mortgage Co. sets aside $325 million for a potential settlement with regulators in 30 states over allegations of unfair lending practices, the firm's billionaire founder is being considered for a U.S. Ambassador post.
Hispanics Targeted in Fraud Scheme
Two Pennsylvania men, a mortgage broker and a real estate agent, are going to federal prison for running a predatory lending scam that targeted poor Hispanic immigrants.
Korea Accuses Citibank of Predatory Lending
The subsidiary of an American banking giant has been accused of predatory lending. But what is unusual about these accusations is that the borrowers are not Americans.
Ameriquest Settlement to Fund Urban Housing
In an agreement with Connecticut authorities, Ameriquest Mortgage Co. and four of its affiliates will pay over $7 million to settle allegations that it charged excessive fees on refinance loans and employed unlicensed loan officers. Much of that amount, however, will go toward funding housing for the poor.
Studies Support Risk Pricing, Prepay Penalties
GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Credit risk factors, and not race, determine pricing on subprime loans, according to new research -- which also said borrowers with prepayment penalties saved an average of nearly 40 basis points.
Study Says Pricing Not Abusive
A recent study comparing rates between minorities and nonminorities among several major lenders dismissed conclusions drawn from previous findings that minorities and women are treated unfairly by lenders.
Predatory Foreclosure Relief
Unsophisticated borrowers who are delinquent on their mortgages are being preyed upon by scam artists that offer the promise of relief and the reality of foreclosure.
Federal or State Predatory Laws?
A number of groups with competing interests each presented their cases for or against preemptive national predatory legislation to congressional subcommittees this week.
Wholesale Lenders Lower Max Broker Fees
Two companies have taken steps to ensure broker-originated and direct borrowers are given fair loan terms. Among the changes are lower limits on maximum broker fees.
YSP Top Borrower Abuse
The most common abuse borrowers are subjected to is excessive yield spread premium, according to a homeowner watchdog group -- which also says lead generation companies land loan prospects with higher cost lenders.
FTC Focuses on Hispanic-Targeted Fraud
The federal government has teamed up with state governments to do more to prevent mortgage fraud, among other scams, targeted at Hispanics.
NY Attorney General Looking at Lender Discrimination
Large mortgage lenders in New York are being investigated by the state's attorney general over possible discrimination, the Wall Street Journal reported today.
Brokers Targeted Hispanics in Predatory Scam
A California couple, both mortgage brokers, were jailed for allegedly deceiving Spanish speaking borrowers into signing loans with terms they didn't understand.
Mortgage Banker YSPs Attacked
In a new study, a homeowner watchdog group claims borrowers are unknowingly paying loan fees twice and says it is "astonishing" that mortgage bankers are exempted from yield spread premium disclosures.
Groups Attack Predatory Bill
Civil rights activists have joined consumer advocacy groups in opposition of a national predatory lending bill.
Minorities May Represent More Risk
Women, minorities and lower-income borrowers continue to receive a disproportionate share of subprime loans, according to a recent study by a consumer advocate organization. But another group suggests risk, not social status, may be the reason these groups wind up in higher rate loans.
Secondary Market Fares Well in Predatory Bill
Groups representing secondary market players commended the newly introduced national anti-predatory lending bill that will slash the liability of subprime loan buyers and assignees.
Groups Disagree About Benefits, Costs of Predatory Bill
National predatory legislation introduced last week has found plenty of support -- and opposition.
Avoiding Predatory Tricks
The state of Ohio has identified seven tricks "unscrupulous" subprime lenders and brokers play on unsuspecting mortgage shoppers -- and one of the state's agencies is attempting to educate applicants about these predatory tactics.
Ameriquest in Hot Water Over Lending Practices
Ameriquest Mortgage Co. has agreed to settle a California class action lawsuit and is in talks with dozens of states over alleged abusive lending practices, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Banks Balance Minority Lending, Reputation
Banks attempting to reach a broader section of their communities through subprime mortgage lending face possible scrutiny under new HMDA reporting about segments of the population that may end up with higher average rates, Alan Greenspan said last week.
ACORN At It Again
In its ongoing assault of Wells Fargo, ACORN now aims to remove the lender's chief executive from a government advisory council after a study of the lender's loans reaffirmed its position that Wells engages in predatory lending. But Wells says the study is flawed and questions ACORNs credibility.
Predatory Penalties
A mortgage broker accused of using predatory lending practices on every loan it originated in Washington faces a state order requiring it to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution to borrowers. But the now-defunct company has appealed the order and claims the state may have overstepped its authoritative boundaries.
Nonprime Servicers Concentrate on Customer Communications
Driven by recent rash of predatory servicing issues, nonprime lenders are shifting their focus to better communications with borrowers.
DC Firm Settles Predatory Charges
Among the accusations against Capital City Mortgage Corp. were claims that the company added phony charges to borrowers' monthly statements.
Group to Police Lender Overcharges
Most borrowers are paying too much on their loans because of dishonest lenders and brokers, according to a homeowner watchdog group that has launched a mortgage document examination and audit service to advise borrowers whether they are being cheated.
Predatory Accusations Drive Lender into Bankruptcy
A class-action lawsuit has helped push a Colorado company accused of operating a predatory loan program into bankruptcy.
OCC Issues Predatory Guidelines
The regulator of federally chartered banks has updated its anti-predatory lending standards.
High-Cost Lending Investors Scarce
Don't look for high-cost loans in pools of residential mortgage-backed securities, as one major ratings agency said less than one-tenth of one percent of the securitizations it rated last year were considered high-cost.
Study Suggests Subprime Features Fuel Foreclosures
Predatory lending terms, particularly prepayment penalties and balloon payments, significantly raise subprime borrowers' risks of losing their home, according to new research.
Group Says Prepayment Penalties Worse for Minorities
Subprime borrowers living in minority neighborhoods are more likely to receive abusive prepayment penalties on their loans than those living in mostly white neighborhoods, according to new research from a fair lending advocacy group.
Fitch Ditches Indiana High Cost Loans
Recently enacted high cost loan legislation has led one major agency to stop rating some pools of Indiana mortgages.
