Safeguard Properties

NYDFS Launches Consumer Protection and Financial Enforcement Division

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Alert
April 29, 2019

Source: New York Department of Financial Services

Additional Resources:

insideARM (NYDFS Launches New “Powerhouse” Consumer Protection and Enforcement Division)

HousingWire (New York Launches its Own CFPB)

Acting Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell today announced that Katherine A. Lemire has been appointed as Executive Deputy Superintendent of the Department’s newly created Consumer Protection and Financial Enforcement Division. The new division combines the previously separate Enforcement and Financial Frauds and Consumer Protection divisions.

“As a highly respected and experienced prosecutor, compliance and regulatory professional, Katie is well-positioned to successfully marshal the extensive resources of the Department’s Enforcement and Financial Frauds and Consumer Protection divisions to deliver real results for New Yorkers,” said Acting Superintendent Lacewell. “DFS’s new Consumer Protection and Financial Enforcement Division will be a powerhouse, and Katie’s knowledge and skillset will greatly strengthen the Department’s mandate to guard against financial crises and to protect consumers and markets from fraud.”

Prior to her appointment at DFS, Ms. Lemire was a partner at StoneTurn, an international consulting firm providing compliance and investigative services.  Before joining StoneTurn, Ms. Lemire founded and oversaw a risk and compliance firm, Lemire LLC, which merged into StoneTurn.

Katie Lemire said, “Given the paramount importance of consumer protection and regulatory oversight in the financial marketplace, I look forward to once again re-entering public service and serving the best interests of New Yorkers, while utilizing the expertise and dedication of DFS staff and resources of the Department.”

Ms. Lemire served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York where she investigated complex federal crimes, including allegations of public corruption, racketeering, fraud, and other white-collar crimes. Ms. Lemire also served as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where she investigated and prosecuted a broad array of criminal cases from grand jury proceedings through trial.

In addition, Ms. Lemire has served as Counsel and principal advisor to New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, where she managed a broad portfolio of operational, legal, and managerial matters for an agency comprised of over 53,000 employees.

Ms. Lemire is the recipient of numerous awards, including the New York Federal Executive Board Award (2008), presented by United States Attorney General as well as the Above & Beyond Award for Outstanding Women in Business (2017).

DFS’s Consumer Protection and Financial Enforcement Division is responsible for protecting and educating consumers and fighting consumer fraud, as well as ensuring that regulated entities comply with New York and federal law in relation to their activities serving the public. It is also responsible for developing investigative leads and intelligence in furtherance of the Department’s efforts to enforce the Banking, Insurance and Financial Services laws, with particular focus on the review and response to cybersecurity events and the development of supervisory, regulatory and enforcement policy and direction in the area of financial crimes. Consumer Protection and Financial Enforcement encompasses the Enforcement Division; Investigations and Intelligence Division; Civil Investigations Unit; the Producers Unit; the Consumer Examinations Unit; the Student Protection Unit; and the Holocaust Claims Processing Office.

Matthew L. Levine continues to serve as Executive Deputy Superintendent, Enforcement.

Mortgage Servicing Professionals Meet With HUD for Policy Discussion

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Industry Update
April 25, 2019

Source: DS News

Capping off a week of meetings between mortgage servicing professionals and related government agencies in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, representatives from the National Mortgage Servicing Association’s (NMSA) Joint Federal Agency Task Force met with HUD for a collaborative discussion about the future of the industry.

The NMSA Task Force group met with government officials at HUD’s headquarters to discuss the pressing issues facing the mortgage servicing sector, including matters related to the servicing of FHA loans.

The Task Force meeting followed Wednesday’s general assembly of the NMSA membership, which included the announcement of Wes Iseley, Senior Managing Director at Carrington Mortgage Holdings, as the group’s incoming Chair, taking over from outgoing Chair Ray Barbone, EVP of Mortgage Services for BankUnited. The NMSA meeting also included a legal update presentation from Legal League 100 Chair Roy Diaz, who discussed matters such as the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the case of Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, which found that businesses engaged in nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings are not considered “debt collectors” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Iseley told DS News, “NMSA members had a productive meeting with Brian Montgomery, Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Housing and Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, and his staff, to discuss recommendations to benefit FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, the industry, and homeowners. The NMSA membership looks forward to continued discussions towards advancing these and other important recommendations.”

“Today’s meeting was a productive and important step in continuing to address the challenges facing the industry,” said Ed Delgado, President & CEO of Five Star Global. “We thank HUD and Commissioner Montgomery for their commitment to homeownership and look forward to a continuing dialog in order to best support the needs of the American homeowner.”

Thursday’s meeting wrapped up a week of events that began on Tuesday with the 10th annual Five Star Government Forum at the Newseum, where leaders from the mortgage industry engaged in an open dialogue with their government peers, including representatives from HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, CFPB, the Department of the Treasury, Ginnie Mae, and FHFA.

The Government Forum included a full lineup of presentations, discussion, and education, including keynote addresses from both HUD Secretary Dr. Benjamin Carson and The Hon. Brian D. Montgomery, Acting Deputy Secretary and Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner, HUD.

FHFA: Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac 2018 Scorecard Progress Report

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Investor Update
April 26, 2019

Source: FHFA

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Scorecard Progress Report today summarizing the 2018 activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) to further FHFA’s three strategic objectives as conservator:  Maintain, Reduce, and Build.

Interested parties are invited to provide input on this Report. Feedback can be submitted via FHFA.gov, or to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Strategic Initiatives, 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20219.

Attachments:

Contacts: Media: Corinne Russell (202) 649-3032 / Stefanie Johnson (202) 649-3030
Consumers: Consumer Communications or (202) 649-3811

New Jersey Bill Aims to Allow Municipal Property Registration

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Legislation Update
April 24, 2019

Source: New Jersey Legislature (S3482 information/full text))

Sponsored by:
Senator SAMUEL D. THOMPSON
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

Permits municipalities to require registration of vacant and abandoned
properties and use registration fee proceeds to maintain these properties.

For full bill text, please click the source link above.

Fannie Mae: Property Preservation Updates

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Investor Update
April 23, 2019

Source: Fannie Mae (Property Preservation Matrix and Reference Guide)

Revisions for April 2019

The Property Preservation Matrix and Reference Guide has been updated.

Revisions include, but are not limited to, the pages noted below. Servicers must comply with all requirements of the Property Preservation Matrix and Reference Guide even if not referenced as a change in the section below.

For full guide, please click the source link above.

FEMA Declared Disaster California

Posted on by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
May 1, 2019

FEMA issued a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for areas in California affected by severe winter storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides that took place February 13-15, 2019.

The following counties are eligible for assistance:

Public Assistance

  • Calaveras
  • Colusa
  • Marin
  • Maiposa
  • Mendocino
  • Modoc
  • Napa
  • Riverside
  • Santa Barbara
  • Shasta
  • Trinity

FEMA Release: Declared Disaster for California

ZIP Code List for FEMA Declared Disaster for California


Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies

Urban Institute: Options for Reforming the Mortgage Servicing Compensation Model

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Industry Update
April 19, 2019

Source: Urban Institute (Options for Reforming the Mortgage Servicing Compensation Model full report)

Abstract

In this brief, the fifth in a series prepared by HFPC researchers with support from the mortgage servicing collaborative, the authors examine three options for the mortgage servicing compensation structure: (1) retain the status quo, (2) move to a fee-for-service model, and (3) move to a central default utility model. The authors discuss the pros and cons of each scenario and assess how each option would perform under various conditions. The authors do not recommend a single option, but articulate considerations of each to help inform future policy discussions on mortgage servicing compensation. There are differing views on the issue, where some suggest servicing compensation must be changed to better align servicing costs and revenues for performing and nonperforming loans in a manner that will improve outcomes for servicers and consumers, while others believe that the present compensation model, coupled with post-crisis reforms and the recommendations from the previous MSC briefs, can promote an efficient servicing market with minimal risk of disruption.

For full report, please click on the source link above.

FHFA: Foreclosure Prevention Report – January 2019

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Investor Update
April 23, 2019

Source: FHFA

January 2019 Highlights

The Enterprises’ Foreclosure Prevention Actions:

• The Enterprises completed 13,589 foreclosure prevention actions in January, bringing the total to 4,297,425 since the start of the conservatorships in September 2008. Over half of these actions have been permanent loan modifications.

• There were 8,446 permanent loan modifications in January, bringing the total to 2,322,567 since the conservatorships began in September 2008.

• Thirty-one percent of modifications in January were modifications with principal forbearance. Modifications with extend-term only accounted for 62 percent of all loan modifications during the month.

• There were 574 short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure completed in January, down slightly compared with December.

The Enterprises’ Mortgage Performance:

• The serious delinquency rate increased slightly from 0.73 percent at the end of December to 0.74 percent at the end of January.

The Enterprises’ Foreclosures:

• Third-party and foreclosure sales increased from 3,206 in December to 4,070 in January.

• Foreclosure starts decreased from 12,440 in December to 12,121 in January.

Attachments:

VA: VALERI Special Announcement

Posted on by Safeguard

Investor Update
April 23, 2019

Source: VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is in the process of transitioning to a new VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) application scheduled to ‘go-live’ on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. This initiative has generated great interest in the mortgage industry. The following information is provided to assist our program partners in anticipation of this exciting milestone:

• 4/1/19 – Last day Post Audit cases were selected (tentative date to resume 7/1).

• 4/6/19 – The 90-day and 180-day Adequacy of Servicing (AOS) reviews will no longer generate (120-day AOS reviews will continue to generate).

• 4/26/19 – Last day to submit claims and appeals (until May 28, 2019).

• 5/15/19 to 5/24/19 – The Servicer Web Portal in VALERI will be a read-only application.

• 5/15/19 to 5/24/19 – Servicers using direct connect/service platforms will report to both Black Knight and VA. VA will process all files on 5/27 in date order.

• 5/15/19 to 5/24/19 – Transfer of Custody events will not generate (details forthcoming on appeals in the new VALERI application).

• 5/17/19 – Tentative date for servicer training (details forthcoming).

• 5/23/19 – Reports will be unavailable after 2:00 PM EST (servicers should generate and save all reports prior to this cut off time).

• 5/24/19 to 5/27/19 – VALERI will be unavailable.

Additional information will be provided as the deployment date nears, but some of the changes in the new VALERI application include:

• Access for new VALERI will be obtained and managed through AccessVA.

• Pre-Approval requests must be submitted via email directly to the assigned Loan Technician (until further notice).

• For Post Audits, Appeals, and Supplemental Claims, servicers will be required to provide the specific page number of the supporting evidence.

• Manual events and all claims will no longer be reported on an individual event/loan basis. All manual reporting must be performed using new bulk upload templates (not yet available).

• Servicers will have to re-enter their Points of Contacts (POC) for each department (servicers should make a copy of existing  POCs before 5/23/19).

Servicers are encouraged to attend the next monthly webinar on Thursday, May 9, 2019, at 1:00 PM EST. Requests for webinar information and all other questions should be directed to the VALERI Helpdesk at valerihelpdesk.vbaco@va.gov.

Thank you for your cooperation and patience during this important transition period.

VALERI Helpdesk
VA Central Office Loan Management

MHA: New Report; Updates to Loan State Change Request Process

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Investor Update
April 19, 2019

Source: MHA

Beginning May 2019, a new report will be available on the HAMP® Reporting Tool (login required).

In accordance with updated OMR reporting guidance that was published in Supplemental Directive (SD) 18-01, a new report will be made available on the Ad hoc Reports link of the HAMP Reporting Tool:

  • Missing OMR Reporting Required

This new report will be published on the first Business Day (BD1) and the fifth Business Day (BD5) of each month. The report will contain all loans which require continued OMR Reporting based on program guidelines.

The following report on the Ad hoc Report link of the HAMP Reporting Tool will no longer be delivered after April 2019:

  •  Aged Missing OMR Report

Servicers should refer to the Servicer Data Quality Outreach report for loans that are considered ‘Aged Missing OMR’ where reporting has not been received for 6 or more months.

Questions?
For more information, review SD 18-01 or email the HAMP Solution Center.

Updates to MHA Loan State Change Request Process Appendices Posted

Updates to the MHA Loan State Change Request Process document to reflect new allowable updates to 2MP HAMP loans.

  • APPENDIX A – MHA Loan State Change Request – Allowable Loan State Changes Matrix
  • APPENDIX B – MHA Loan State Change Request – Attribute Conditionality Matrix

Additional guidance has been incorporated at the link below which can be viewed within the Data Reporting tab, under the MHA Loan State Change Request Process section on the HMPadmin.com