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    <title>Compliance Times &gt; Lending Compliance</title>
    <link>http://www.compliancetimes.org</link>
    <description>Latest Lending Compliance News</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <managingEditor>newsletter@questsoft.com</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>newsletter@questsoft.com</webMaster>
    <copyright>2007 QuestSoft</copyright>
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      <title>Compliance Times &gt; Lending Compliance</title>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.org</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Fed Unveils Long-Awaited HOEPA Rules </title>
      <pubDate>Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:41:08 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://compliancetimes.org/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Federal Reserve Board is proposing a "robust set" of rules to clean up subprime lending practices and to address unfair and deceptive practices associated with servicing, mortgage broker fees, and appraisals. On subprime and higher-priced alternative-A mortgages, the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act proposal would create an ability-to-repay standard, require lenders to verify income and assets to curb stated-income lending, mandate escrow accounts for at least 12 months, and...]]></description>
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      <title>Fannie Eyes Appraisals in Light of Price Declines</title>
      <pubDate>Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:11:04 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.org/index.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Fannie Mae has already identified 1,800 ZIP codes where house prices have declined, and it expects appraisals to accurately reflect those market realities, according to Fannie vice president Hope Evans. "Sadly, we are seeing a lot of these appraisals with no mention whatsoever about the declining market,"]]></description>
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      <title>NAACP Files HMDA Suit Against 14 Lenders</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jul 2007 10:25:30 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announced on July 11 that it had filed a lawsuit against 14 lenders for racial discrimination. The suit alleges that Ameriquest, Wells Fargo, Fremont, Option One, WMC Mortgage, Long Beach Mortgage, CitiGroup, BNC Mortgage, Accredited Home Lenders, Encore, First Franklin, HSBC & Washington Mutual engaged in "systematic, institutionalized racism in making home mortgage loans." 
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      <title>HUD Announces New Fair Lending Review Division</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jul 2007 10:26:46 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) recently announced that it is creating a new Fair Lending Division that will review mortgage lending practices throughout the nation. HUD has hired a senior-level economist and has advertised to hire five fair lending specialists to enhance its capacity to investigate allegations of mortgage lending discrimination.]]></description>
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      <title>Agencies Release List of Distressed or Underserved Nonmetropolitan Middle-Income Geographies </title>
      <pubDate>Mon, 4 Jun 2007 13:07:01 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/release/2007-50.htm</link>
      <description><![CDATA[ The federal bank and thrift regulatory agencies on Friday announced the availability of the 2007 list of distressed or underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies in which bank revitalization or stabilization activities will receive Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) consideration as “community development.” As in past releases, the 2007 list will incorporate a one-year lag period for geographies that were designated as distressed or underserved in 2006, but were not designated as such in the 2007 release. Geographies subject to the one-year lag period are eligible to receive consideration for community development activities for the twelve months following publication of the 2007 list.]]></description>
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      <title>Agencies Announce Availability of 2006 HMDA Data</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:36:05 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/bcreg/2007/20070412/default.htm</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The federal banking, credit union, and thrift supervisory agencies, along with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, announced the availability of the 2006 home loan data disclosed under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).
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      <title>HOUSING DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINTS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH</title>
      <pubDate>Mon, 9 Apr 2007 18:15:29 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.hud.gov/news/release.cfm?content=pr07-032.cfm</link>
      <description><![CDATA[WASHINGTON– Government agencies received 10,328 housing discrimination complaints, the highest number ever filed in a single year, according to an annual fair housing report released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD's Fiscal Year 2006 report, which details HUD's enforcement efforts during the year, also found that race and disability top the list of reasons why individuals filed complaints. ]]></description>
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      <title>Dodd Announces Summit Among Other Meetings Dealing With Foreclosure Challenges</title>
      <pubDate>Fri, 6 Apr 2007 10:45:23 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2007/04/06/look-for-mccain-clinton-to-spend-a-storm-as-rivals-flex-muscles/</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Presidential-campaigning Senator Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., is in the midst of finishing up details on his plan to host a "summit" to be attended by regulators, lenders and consumer advocacy groups.  Sentator Dodd, also the Chair of the Senate Banking Committee is hosting the summit to address possible solutions to the challenges that some homeowners are facing regarding foreclosure. Likewise, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., is said to be considering "brainstorming with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration and others to address predatory lending issues;" while Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's staff plans meetings with federal and state regulators to "talk about lessons learned."  ]]></description>
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      <title>CRA &amp; Community Development Webinar</title>
      <pubDate>Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:29:22 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.questsoft.com/webinar4_3_07.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Do you have more questions than answers when it comes to Community Development? If so, attend this FREE* webinar featuring industry expert and President of GeoDataVision, Len Suzio.]]></description>
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      <title>Regulator Favors Standards Against Predatory Lending</title>
      <pubDate>Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:14:43 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/business/28subprime.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[New York Times (03/28/07) P. C2 <br/>In testimony before a House Financial Services subcommittee, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair urged lawmakers to pass national anti-predatory-lending legislation that would beef up existing rules and govern both federally and state-governed lenders. Bair is the first top regulator to call for such a measure. Meanwhile, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox told lawmakers at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing that an enforcement unit has been established by the agency to determine whether some subprime lenders engaged in fraud by failing to make proper disclosures to investors of securities backed by such mortgages. Companies under investigation were not named.]]></description>
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      <title>Little Evidence of Subprime Spillover</title>
      <pubDate>Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:09:10 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.ft.com/cms/s/44819580-dcbf-11db-a21d-000b5df10621.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The most recent data show delinquencies are low in states where house prices have risen the most in recent years. They are high in states where the local economy is weak and in those still recovering from hurricane Katrina.]]></description>
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      <title>Wyoming Enacts Security Breach Notification and Credit Report Freeze Laws</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2007 12:34:04 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/#4</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The state of Wyoming has recently enacted a Data Security Bill, S.B.53. Similar to other legislation enacted on the state level addressing this issue, S.B. 53 obligates institutions to inform consumers of a breach if “misuse of personal identifying information ha occurred or is reasonably likely to occur.” The legislation also enables consumers to implement a “security freeze” of their credit report for a fee. “Victims of identity theft' are provided the security freeze option for no charge. The effective date is July 1, 2007. ]]></description>
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      <title>Federal Agencies Publish Proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2007 12:33:24 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/#3</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending (Statement) discusses criteria and factors, including payment shock, that an institution should assess in determining a borrower's ability to repay a subprime loan. The Statement also discusses consumer protection issues and practices, including reminders about some of the existing statutes, regulations, and guidance intended to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, and other predatory practices. Finally, the Statement discusses the need for policies, procedures, and systems to assure that institutions' subprime mortgage lending is conducted in a safe and sound manner.]]></description>
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      <title>OTS Issues Final Ruling on CRA Requirements</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2007 12:31:39 -0700</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/#2</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) announced that it is publishing a final rule revising four areas of its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations to reestablish uniformity between its rules and those of the other federal banking agencies.]]></description>
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      <title>Rhode Island Banking Bulletin 2007-3 issued on February 8, 2007</title>
      <pubDate>Fri, 9 Feb 2007 11:02:52 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.dbr.state.ri.us/documents/rules/banking_securities/Notice_re_Home_Loan_Protection_Act.pdf</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Concerning the Rhode Island Home Loan Protection Act and Emergency Banking Regulation 3, the Bulletin cites Section 7 of Regulation 3 that provides that the Department of Business Regulation (the "DBR") will not take any enforcement actions on the regulatory requirements for any issues related to the use of disclosures prior to February 1, 2007.  That date was previously extended to March 1, 2007, and the Bulletin advises that the date has again been extended to April 1, 2007.]]></description>
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    <item>
      <title> CRA Exams &amp; Performance Analysis Webinar</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 8 Feb 2007 11:55:55 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://compliancetimes.com/#1</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Attend this FREE webinar featuring industry expert and President of GeoDataVision, Len Suzio. This online seminar will focus on CRA data collection and how to analyze the data to gain the maximum benefit for your institution. This includes information on how to turn your CRA "Cost Center" into a CRA "Profit Center". ..]]></description>
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      <title>Rhode Island Home Loan Protection Act</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 8 Feb 2007 11:55:12 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://compliancetimes.com/#2</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Rhode Island Department of Business and Regulation recently issued a notice extending the effective date for a few specific provisions of the Act. The Act became effective December 31, 2006. Specifically, lenders were challenged with Section 7 which addresses the disclosure requirement which caused some lenders to halt business activity due to the ambiguity of the provision as well as a rapidly approaching deadline in which to program systems, implement internal policies, coordinate with investors, etc.. The date for compliance with this, as well as a few other provisions, has been extended to March 1, 2007.]]></description>
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      <title>How Do Examiners Measure CRA Performance?</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 8 Feb 2007 11:54:31 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://compliancetimes.com/#3</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The first thing to understand about CRA is that it boils down to a very simple question: “How does my bank meet our community's need for credit services?” Whenever you measure your bank's CRA performance you should always keep this in mind. This question has 3 built-in assumptions: (1) you know what your community's credit needs are, (2) you have loan products to meet those needs and (3) you have ways to measure how you are meeting those needs. Let's briefly review the first of these topics...]]></description>
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      <title>Community Reinvestment Act News</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 8 Feb 2007 11:53:18 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://compliancetimes.com/#4</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has released a revised Compliance Examination Handbook. The version contains up-to-date guidance, as of June 2006, for examinations under the CRA. The focus of the handbook is "risk-focused compliance" during the examination process.]]></description>
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      <title>Reg O Revisions Bulletin Issued</title>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:24:38 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2006-48.html</link>
      <category>Lending Compliance</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The OCC has issued a Bulletin regarding the previously announced amendments to 12 CFR 215 (Regulation O) made by the FRB which removing certain reporting requirements regarding extensions of credit to bank insiders.]]></description>
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      <title>Update - Legal Issues &amp; 2007 Legislative Forecast Webinar is FULL</title>
      <pubDate>Wed, 6 Dec 2006 13:30:23 GMT</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.questsoft.com/legislative_webinar1.html</link>
      <description><![CDATA[QuestSoft announced today that all three offerings of the upcoming webinar have been filled. There will be a recorded version offered for $95.]]></description>
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      <title>Legal Issues &amp; 2007 Legislative Forecast Webinar</title>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Nov 2006 17:41:03 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/#1</link>
      <category>Lending Compliance</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Thinking about expanding into new states? Confused by the varying requirements? Are you looking for an overview of the legislative landscape and the changes coming in 2007? If so, plan on attending this informative Compliance Webinar hosted by industry expert and Vice President of Compliance at QuestSoft, Stephanie Ochoa.]]></description>
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      <title>City’s lending law goes too far; Ohio law prevails, state’s high court rules in Cleveland case</title>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Nov 2006 17:44:48 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/#2</link>
      <category>Lending Compliance</category>
      <description><![CDATA[Ohio's "home rule" doctrine restricts cities from passing more restrictive local rules on matters dealing with issues constitutionally defined for the state level.  Examples given in recent artices are environmental and even health issues.  The Ohio Supreme Court handed down a 5-2 decision stating that the Cleveland ordinance was too strict, saying Ohioans are "better served by a statewide standard on lending."]]></description>
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      <title>Illinois HB 4050 - Predatory Lending Database</title>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Nov 2006 17:45:38 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/#3</link>
      <category>Lending Compliance</category>
      <description><![CDATA[A hearing has been scheduled by the Illinois regulator for November 27, 2006, with community leaders, legislators, homeowners and real estate professionals.  This meeting will have an agenda that will include a call for sharing of ideas that “improve the pilot program…”]]></description>
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      <title>FFIEC Revises 2006 HMDA Edits</title>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Nov 2006 17:46:25 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/#4</link>
      <category>Lending Compliance</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Federal Reserve has once again made some last minute changes to Validity and Quality Errors.  On October 2, the FRB removed two validity errors and added five quality errors in their place.  For the most part this is good news since the quality errors replace the validity errors.  The FRB also made them retroactive to January 1, 2006...]]></description>
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      <title>OTS Issues Proposal to Revise CRA Regulations</title>
      <pubDate>Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:20:56 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/#5</link>
      <category>Lending Compliance</category>
      <description><![CDATA[OTS is proposing changes to its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations in four areas to reestablish uniformity between its regulations and those of the other Federal banking agencies. OTS is proposing revisions to its CRA rule to promote consistency and help facilitate objective evaluations of CRA performance across the banking and thrift industries. Consistent standards could allow the public to make more effective comparisons of bank and thrift CRA performance.]]></description>
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      <title>FRB HMDA Referrals</title>
      <pubDate>Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:19:03 -0800</pubDate>
      <link>http://www.compliancetimes.com/#6</link>
      <category>Lending Compliance</category>
      <description><![CDATA[The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has finished examining 33 of 47 banks whose Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data revealed significant disparities in loan pricing. The agency has referred two of those institutions to the Department of Justice for discriminatory mortgage practices.]]></description>
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