Plantation

It’s been over two years since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law by the President and the rules governing mortgage loans are starting to effect the way lenders are doing business. One of the major implementations of the law was the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPD), an independent federal agency tasked with regulating consumer protection in regard to mortgage loans. The law and agency came about following the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008, where large banks and hedge funds (known as shadow banks) issued loans to borrowers with poor credit histories and thus had a higher risk of defaulting on their mortgage. This triggered millions of foreclosures nationwide and many analysts put the monetary losses in the trillions.  In its…

Bank of America is the second largest bank in the country, yet they’re poised to cut thousands of jobs in their mortgage departments in response to an unforgiving housing market and a severe lack of refinancing applications. Most of the jobs being eliminated deal with mortgage modifications or foreclosures as an upturn in the economy has lessened the number of people who are struggling to keep their homes. When the housing market reached its lowest point several years ago, many large banks such as Chase and Wells Fargo contracted outside companies to help with the large influx of foreclosures and modification applications they were receiving. Most of the 3,000 jobs Bank of America plans to cut were those contracted to help during the crisis. Bank of America isn’t alone in…