Mortgage Industry Updates: Monthly RoundUp – September 2020

Last month involved several regulatory compliance updates and hot topics in the Mortgage industry. We’ve rounded up some key updates and how they will affect you and your financial institution going forward.

The OCC Slaps Capital One With $80M Fine Over Cybersecurity, Risk Management Practices

Migrating to the cloud is an increasingly common practice for financial institutions. But with that migration comes increased risk. If not done properly, the process could leave sensitive information vulnerable and potentially lead to breaches. As such, there is more scrutiny than ever on cloud migration practices.

On Thursday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said that it has assessed an $80 million civil money penalty against Capital One N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA) N.A. related to the migration of “significant” IT operations to the cloud.

Why Is This Important to Me and My Financial Institution?

All financial institutions need to make sure they have strong practices in place around cybersecurity, risk management, and borrower protection, as the penalties for non-compliance can be prohibitive. OnCourse Learning has an entire suite of risk-management and compliance based courses that can accomplish that.

Regulatory compliance roundup - September 2020

Here are 2020’s Hottest Housing Markets According to Zip Code

Compared to last year, the housing market this year has seen some big changes. Notably, people are moving inland from the large cities as the pandemic has created a coastal exodus, prompting apartment dwellers to seek more space and big yards.

Realtor.com released its hottest ZIP codes of 2020 report on Tuesday, which revealed that more towns in the Northeast made the list than last year.

“The hottest zip codes have bucked the national trend of a housing market slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Danielle Hale, realtor.com’s chief economist said in the report.

Why Is This Important to Me and My Financial Institution?

Given the hot housing market, this is a chance for lenders to capitalize.  Mortgage Loan Officers looking to expand their footprint should look to get licensed in new markets.  OnCourse Learning offers pre-licensing courses for all states, allowing loan officers to close more business!

FHFA Delays Refi Fee Implementation to Dec. 1

The Federal Housing Finance Agency this afternoon said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would delay implementation of a controversial Adverse Market Refinance Fee by two months, to Dec. 1.

The fee, announced earlier this month, was previously scheduled to go into effect Sept. 1.

FHFA also announced Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will exempt refinance loans with loan balances below $125,000, nearly half consisting of lower income borrowers at or below 80% of area median income. Affordable refinance products, Home Ready and Home Possible, are also exempt.

Why Is This Important to Me and My Financial Institution?

The implementation of Adverse Market Refinance Fee would have added additional cost to borrowers looking to take advantage of refinancing in a low rate environment.  Lenders would have felt the pinch as well, being forced to either pass along the cost of the fee to the client or absorb a portion as a cost of doing business.  The postponement of the fee allots an appropriate time frame for lenders to strategize and prepare for the expected implementation on December 1st.  The timeline for this enactment of the fee is subject to change based on a number of variables, including the results of the November election and additional collaboration between the industry and FHFA.

Fed’s New Inflation Policy May Lead to Higher Mortgage Rates

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday announced a major shift in monetary policy that will allow the central bank to use inflation averaging, rather than the current practice of setting a hard target.

Speaking at a video-only version of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual conference, Powell said the Fed will no longer raise its benchmark rate to keep unemployment from falling too low and will allow inflation to run slightly higher than the current 2% target after periods of economic weakness.

Why Is This Important to Me and My Financial Institution?

While the long-range forecast is for rates to hold steady or even drop slightly, keeping tabs on the Federal Reserve and the changes in course they take is an important exercise.  Because the policy is not expected to be employed until the pandemic is over, there likelihood of seeing higher interest rates soon is not likely.

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*For other news, please refer to Industry News through Mortgage HQ!

Mortgage HQ includes industry news and trends from mortgage experts available at your fingertips, as well as daily one-minute videos from Dale Vermillion, one of the foremost leaders in the mortgage industry. Topics include daily market updates, sales tips and motivational videos to keep LOs excelling in their business.

To see a demo that will give you access to valuable training topics like these and more, visit OncourseLearning.com/Mortgage-H-Q.

Michael Rhodes - Product Manager at OnCourse Learning

About the Author

Michael Rhodes

Product Manager at OnCourse Learning

Michael Rhodes is the Product Manager for the mortgage segment at OnCourse Learning. Michael has worked in the financial services industry for 24 years and keeps up to date on mortgage industry hot topics. Michael received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Carroll University.

By |2020-11-09T14:15:45-06:00September 23rd, 2020|Financial Services, Mortgage|0 Comments

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