Links in “Banks”
- Bad Mortgage Service Practices Leads to $6.25 Million Settlement
New Jersey settles with PHH Mortgage for inaccurate statements about the time it would take to process loan modification requests and inaccurate statements to consumers about foreclosure proceedings and assessments of improper late fees and other fees. [12/16]
- Poll: Are Community Banks on Their Way Out?
American Banker poll results indicate that the future of community banks is not as gloomy as some prognosticators think. [12/16]
- OCC Closes 2nd Texas Bank of the Year
On Friday the 13th, the OCC closed $160 million Texas Community Bank, the 2nd Texas bank closure this year and the 24th in the nation, less than half the number of banks closed last year. [12/16]
- New York State Conducts Live Test for Cybersecurity
200 community banks in New York state underwent a testing exercise yesterday of their cybersecurity measures; today there will be a webcast debriefing. [12/13]
- Loans Under $25K Exempted from Appraisal Rule
Final rule issued for appraisal requirements for higher-priced loans; loans of less than $25,000, along with certain kinds of refinance loans, are exempted. [12/13]
- Debit Card Fraud Cost Banks Nearly $1 Billion
Banks lost $943 million to debit card fraud, 54% of all deposit account fraud, according to a recent ABA survey. [12/13]
- HUD’s Final Rule Creates Two Types of Qualified Mortgages
The two types of qualified mortgages are "safe harbor" (APRs equal to or less than prime + 1.15% and ongoing mortgage insurance premiums) and "rebuttable presumption" (loans with APRs over the safe harbor limit, but where lenders are presumed to have determined borrowers' ability to repay). [12/12]
- Cuckoo Smurfing: Beware this Complex Money Laundering Scheme
Named for the cuckoo bird, which lays its eggs in the nest of other bird species who unwittingly take care of them believing them to be their own, cuckoo smurfing is a complex money laundering scheme that looks to transfer funds through the bank accounts of innocent customers. Here are four steps in the cuckoo scheme process. [12/11]
- SIGTARP Targets Community Bankers
The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program's track record to date is putting community bankers in jail for acts of fraud, but it appears to be largely ignoring the big banks. Is this a case of going after the low-hanging fruit? [12/11]
- Another Bank Adopts Pew Shortened Disclosure Model
Ally Bank joins with other banks in adopting simplified disclosure forms for banking products; Pew Research in 2011 found median length of checking account disclosures was 111 pages. [12/11]
