S. 2155, the  Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act  just passed the House.  This bill passed the senate back in March of this year and was sent back to the House for approval and now sits on President Trump's desk for approval. The bill rolls back reforms from the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

MCLEAN, Va., April 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB:FMCC) announced today HomeOne mortgage, a new conventional (non-FHA) 3% down payment option for qualified first-time homebuyers. HomeOne mortgage broadly serves borrowers without geographic or income restrictions and complements the company’s Home Possible^® mortgage products for low-to-moderate income audiences. HomeOne will be available starting July 29, 2018. Read full article

The Senate spent the first part of this week working through the bill sorting through the more than 100 proposed amendments. While the final vote was originally expected last week, it was pushed back to this week in order to consider the amendments. The bill, which aims to ease regulations on small banks, was sponsored by Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, with nearly 20 bipartisan co-sponsors, and was introduced in the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

Read full article 

Unable to agree on more than 100 amendments
March 12, 2018 Author: Kelsey Ramírez

Click Here for Full Article

Press Release: 1/22/18

Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo today reminded all regulated entities and licensed persons covered by the Department of Financial Services’s (DFS) landmark cybersecurity regulation that the first certification of compliance requiring a statement to the Superintendent covering the prior calendar year must be filed electronically via the DFS cybersecurity portal on or prior to February 15, 2018. Superintendent Vullo also took the opportunity to announce that DFS will now be incorporating cybersecurity in all examinations, including adding questions related to cybersecurity to “first day letters,” which are notices the Department issues to commence its examinations of financial services companies, including examinations of banks and insurance companies for safety and soundness and market conduct.

Read Full Press Release CLICK HERE

The CFPB is assessing the Ability to Repay rule, also known as the Qualified Mortgage rule, they released in January of 2014.  Under the rule, we have a 43% ratio that essentially only applies to private industry loans and a 3% cap that really only applies to mortgage brokers because of all of the exemptions.  This is your opportunity to comment.  Certainly, we would recommend that they remove lender-paid compensation from the 3% cap.  That would give an even playing field for all originators, that the CFPB claims to want to create.  Secondly, the government loan exemption from the 43% ratio expires in 2021.  The CFPB must decide in this iteration if that should be extended.  Changing to a 50% DTI would be the best choice but we really need to extend the GSE/FHA/VA exemption if raising the DTI is not their choice.  They also need to make certain streamline refinances remain QMs.

May 17, 2017

Pursuant to §597 of the New York Banking Law, licensed mortgage  bankers and registered mortgage brokers are required to file a Volume of Operations Report (“VOOR”) annually.

The Department is pleased to announce the 2016 VOOR will be accessible beginning Monday, May 22, 2017 at 9:00am EST. Correspondence outlining the filing requirements and password were mailed out to licensed mortgage bankers and registered mortgage brokers on May 17, 2017.  Kindly note, all VOOR filers will have six weeks from the date of this correspondence to electronically file the required VOOR information. 

click link for more information http://www.dfs.ny.gov/banking/voor.htm

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a proposal to facilitate compliance with the 2015 updates to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) rule. The changes proposed would help financial institutions comply with the 2015 HMDA Final Rule by clarifying the information they are required to collect and report about their mortgage lending.

You can access the proposal on the Bureau’s website.