Last week, a consortium of federal regulatory agencies released their long awaited "Guidance on Nontraditional Mortgage Product Risks." The linked-to press release tells us exactly what they mean by "nontraditional":
These products, referred to variously as "nontraditional," "alternative," or "exotic" mortgage loans (referred to below as nontraditional mortgage loans), include "interest-only" mortgages and "payment option" adjustable-rate mortgages. These products allow borrowers to exchange lower payments during an initial period for higher payments later.
As Will Carless pointed out back in June, 70 percent of San Diego home loans in 2005 were of either the interest-only or payment-option type. So it would appear that the new regulations put some of San Diego’s favorite loan products directly in the crosshairs.
Some highlights of the new guidelines follow:
Are you sure that the
Are you sure that the guidance doesn’t apply to Countrywide? I thought Countrywide was owned by a bank holding company.
Finally the main stream
Finally the main stream media has caught wind of the problem with liar loans! The following clip is a story that was done by CBS in San Francisco on a special called 30 minutes.
Could have gone a little deeper, but this is a great start!!!!
http://cbs5.com/30minutes/local_story_266005029.html
http://www.mbarl.org
I find it charming that the
I find it charming that the President of MBARL (Mortgage Brokers Association for Responsible Lending) has been licensed for about 1 year. Dude you got a good message but you need someone with a bit more credibility to actually accomplish something.
0-down in Canada.
ScotiaBank
0-down in Canada.
ScotiaBank announced new Zero-down affordability products in Canada yesterday. Does nobody up here see what this has done in the US? As far as the state-regulated lenders avoiding the guidelines, will their fed-regulated competitors really let them play on a tilted field?
“guideline” is a banking
“guideline” is a banking term which gives the expectations set by the regulatory agencies. So the banks must comply with it. I used to think a guideline was just a suggestion, but when a senator asked about it at the hearing, the panelists all agreed that guidelines is a term, and it has real teeth.
The depository institutions have already ensured that the state regulated lenders must compy, so very soon the state regulators will come out with the same rules for the private lenders. It will be done under Title Z and Y (?), the Truth in Lending Act, etc.
The real question is: will these guidelines stop 70% of sales in San Diego? That is something I plan to investigate by interviewing some lenders. (If I can find some willing to talk…)