Links in “Ability to Repay (ATR)/Qualified Mortgage (QM)”

Speaking to the Mortgage Bankers Association, HUD Secretary Julian Castro says that credit, which was too loose in the years leading up to the economic crisis, has swung too far the other way. "There's been a vacuum in the market and it needs to be filled." [10/21/14]

The Federal Reserve Board is planning to vote on a final regulation on qualified residential mortgages at its October 22^nd board meeting. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the expectation is that the standards for mortgages that are packaged into mortgage-backed securities will be loosened in order to make credit more available. [10/16/14]

The FDIC will be hosting a free teleconference on October 22 relevant to all FDIC-supervised institutions. The focus will include regulatory and compliance issues centered on ability to repay, qualified mortgages, and loan officer compensation final rules. [10/9/14]

A Federal Reserve survey of loan officers concludes that ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage rules that went into effect earlier this year are not having a significant impact on residential mortgage loans. However, a closer look at the numbers reveals that only 47% of respondents at smaller institutions say that approval ratings for residential mortgages are "about the same," compared to 78% of large bank respondents. [8/6/14]

Using the definition of "assumption" from Reg Z, the CFPB issued a rule clarifying the term "successor-in-interest" as part of its ability-to-repay rule. [7/17/14]

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is issuing an interpretive rule to clarify that when a borrower dies, the name of the borrower’s heir generally may be added to the mortgage without triggering the Bureau’s Ability-to-Repay rule. [7/9/14]

The CFPB has been very clear about the requirements for qualified mortgages. So what about non-QM loans? Well, they happen to be one of the most profitable ventures for lenders, and therefore lenders are trying to figure out how to do this kind of lending safely. [7/7/14]

By obtaining an opinion from a credible third party on a borrower's ability to repay, a lender has gone a long way to demonstrate that it has acted in good faith. [6/11/14]

While some fear the bill would open the door to irresponsible lending, the House passed a bill amending TILA to exempt fees from affiliated title companies from counting toward the 3% point and fee threshold established by the Qualified Mortgage rule. [6/11/14]

Residential mortgage loan lenders are increasingly willing to explore ways to loan money outside of the “qualified mortgage” arena. What is one way they can do this? Jumbo loans. [6/9/14]