Conviction of Attorney and Title Agency CEO for $26 Million Fraud Crime Reinforces Need for Closing Agent Risk Management

According to an article published today in Mortgage Professional America, the former CEO of LandCastle Title, who also served as the managing partner of a real estate law firm, will spend 15 years in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme to bilk his firm out of millions of dollars. Nathan E. Hardwick IV, 53, operated […]

US Treasury Department Supports the Expansion of e-Closings and e-Notarizations in Mortgage Industry

Industry publications are reporting that after a period of research and review the US Treasury Department is encouraging lenders and states to pursue e-closing and e-notarization technology to make residential mortgage transactions more convenient for consumers. The American Land Title Association (ALTA) also released a statement today indicating that its leadership recently met with Treasury […]

Protecting Borrower Data in An Age of Hacking and Phishing Schemes

“Data privacy” and “data security” are terms most lenders are hearing over and over again these days. The reasons for this are numerous but include federal and state regulator focus on the issue, increased publicity over wire fraud and data storage breaches in business and industry, and heightened concern by consumers about how their sensitive […]

If The Table Starts Rockin’, Who’s Gonna Come Knockin’?

One of the biggest concerns that mortgage lenders have had for years is that they send their mortgage funds and collateral security documents to complete strangers who gather together and manage a process where there is no seat for them at the table. Even though the closing of a mortgage loan involves significant sums of […]

CFPB: No More Regulation by Enforcement? An Analysis

According to Mortgage Professional America, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney, recently told industry leaders that the CFPB will no longer practice “regulation by enforcement.” “The regulation by enforcement answer is really simple – we aren’t doing it anymore,” Mulvaney said. “It’s a fairness issue. If you’ve done something for […]

Data Breaches from Email Phishing Scams Still Rocking Mortgage Industry: WEI Mortgage latest victim.

Just today the industry learned that WEI Mortgage has discovered a data breach from an email phishing scam last Fall that appears to have exposed loan file information and borrower personal identifying data such as Social Security numbers to outside parties. Back in October 2016 I wrote that Wells Fargo Bank and the Federal Bureau […]

Why Settlement Agents Pose the Greatest Risk to Mortgage Lenders and Borrowers

Settlement agents, the men and women who manage the closing of residential mortgage loans, carry a great burden with them. Each time they close a loan they have access to mortgage proceeds, lender documents including the important collateral security instruments (note and mortgage) and borrower personal and financial information (in the final 1003 and other […]

Enterprise Risk Management: What’s in Your MROM?

Increasing regulatory pressures on banks and lenders to adopt greater risk management systems and processes are aimed at establishing a more uniform approach to quality control industry-wide. At the same time these pressures seek to protect consumers from the type of non-managed business decisions that were at the root of the financial industry collapse several […]