Financial Regulation

Maryland financial regulators will take part in the effort to make sure the big banks that recently settled allegations of widespread foreclosure misconduct live up to the agreement they signed. Anne Balcer Norton, deputy commissioner of financial regulation at the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, said the agency has been named to the monitoring committee for the nationwide settlement. It's the only state bank regulator on the committee, she said. "I'm pleased that we get a seat at the table," she said, adding that the agency has the "ground-level perspective" of what homeowners are going through.

Maryland financial regulators will take part in the effort to make sure the big banks that recently settled allegations of widespread foreclosure misconduct live up to the agreement they signed. Anne Balcer Norton, deputy commissioner of financial regulation at the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, said the agency has been named to the monitoring committee for the nationwide settlement. It's the only state bank regulator on the committee, she said. "I'm pleased that we get a seat at the table," she said, adding that the agency has the "ground-level perspective" of what homeowners are going through.

A Baltimore man who is a longtime veteran of the financial services industry has been appointed as the state's next commissioner of financial regulation, replacing the soon-to-retire Mary Louise Preis. The new commissioner, Charles W. Turnbaugh, 58, is a first vice president and counsel with MBNA America NA. "He has senior-level experience and knowledge of the [financial services] industry, its operations and the operation of financial institutions, as well as a strong working knowledge of the policy issues facing financial institutions," said James D. Fielder Jr., secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, the agency within which the commissioner of financial regulation works.

State regulators said Wednesday that they have ordered a large mortgage broker to stop making loans to Marylanders after federal investigators alleged the company had violated lending rules. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced last week that it was no longer allowing Allied Home Mortgage Corp. to originate loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration because it said the company had played "fast and loose with FHA's standards. " The Justice Department is alleging mortgage fraud in a lawsuit against Allied.

Ocwen Loan Servicing gives penalty fee refunds Ocwen Loan Servicing has refunded nearly $675,000 to borrowers in Maryland after charging them prepayment penalties that violated state law, Maryland's Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation said Wednesday. After the financial regulation office found some violations, Ocwen checked all its Maryland mortgages and sent refund checks to more than 180 borrowers at the end of last month, the state said. - Jamie Smith Hopkins Senior housing complex in Middle River almost done The first phase of the 196-home, $43 million Renaissance Square development in Middle River is nearing completion, with a senior housing apartment building expected to open to residents in December, developer Enterprise Homes said Wednesday.

State regulators said Wednesday that they have ordered a large mortgage broker to stop making loans to Marylanders after federal investigators alleged the company had violated lending rules. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced last week that it was no longer allowing Allied Home Mortgage Corp. to originate loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration because it said the company had played "fast and loose with FHA's standards. " The Justice Department is alleging mortgage fraud in a lawsuit against Allied.

Three Maryland mortgage companies must refund about $246,000 in prepayment penalties charged to customers statewide in violation of a 2008 law, according to state financial regulators. Litton Loan Servicing and Saxon Mortgage Services have returned $71,000 collected from 160 Maryland consumers, and Bayview Loan Servicing refunded $104,000 to 40 Marylanders, according to the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The violations were discovered during compliance examinations conducted by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation.

An effort to allow for-profit companies to provide debt management services to Marylanders failed during the last hours of the General Assembly when the legislature passed a bill to increase consumer protections for those seeking help from credit counselors. Now, only nonprofits can provide credit counseling and debt management in Maryland. But state regulators are expected to study whether for-profits can do the same job, and the issue may come up again next year. Two years ago, scandals erupted in the credit counseling industry with some nonprofits accused of overcharging consumers and channeling money to for-profit affiliates.

For many people, spreading holiday cheer includes making donations to charity. But county consumer protection officials are warning residents to be wary of telephone and e-mail solicitations, particularly during a holiday season riddled with economic woes. "Certainly the holiday season brings out people who want to take advantage of people's generosity," said Rebecca Bowman, Office of Consumer Affairs administrator. "And I think in hard economic times, it's not uncommon to see solicitations aimed at people who may be in trouble."

Once again, Maryland legislators may allow for-profit companies to offer debt management services to consumers here. Once again, it's a bad idea - at least until we know more. And it couldn't come at a worse time, with a growing number of Marylanders financially struggling and foreclosures setting a record. They certainly don't need a credit counselor trying to sell them other products, as consumer advocates fear would be the result. Debt management is when a credit-counseling agency negotiates with creditors on a consumer's behalf to come up with a repayment plan.

Maryland's financial regulators have been busy for several years now, sorting through the fallout from the financial crisis and the real estate collapse. The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation oversees state-chartered banks and is responsible for ensuring that other financial companies — such as mortgage lenders, brokers and debt-collection agencies — operate properly in the state. Most recently, the office has been pursuing unlicensed debt collectors and ramping up efforts to make sure that licensed collectors have enough documentation when trying to win court judgments.

Federal banking regulators have ordered an Eastern Shore bank to take measures to establish adequate capital levels, which could include finding a buyer, merging with another institution or selling shares, among other options. The Bank of the Eastern Shore has 60 days to comply with the prompt correction action issued this week by the Federal Reserve Board, which found the institution undercapitalized at the end of April. The order said that the Cambridge-based bank reported a net loss of almost $3.2 million at the end of June from December 2010 and that its equity capital declined to $7.7 million from $10.9 million.

Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation has hired a former Baltimore prosecutor to oversee the enforcement of financial regulations, the state said Wednesday. Cynthia H. Jones, the new assistant commissioner of enforcement and consumer services, will also direct staff who handle consumer questions and complaints within the department's financial regulation office. She worked for the Baltimore state's attorney's office for 15 years. She was deputy state's attorney for the past five years, with duties that included managing investigations.

Maryland's top financial regulator is joining the board of the Federal Reserve. Sarah Bloom Raskin was confirmed as a Fed governor late Wednesday by the U.S. Senate, a move that was expected. Janet Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, was given the go-ahead to join the board of governors as vice chair. Raskin, the state's commissioner of financial regulation for the past three years, is resigning from that job effective Friday. Her deputy, Mark Kaufman, has been nominated for the commissioner position, a job that requires approval by the state Senate.

Three Maryland mortgage companies must refund about $246,000 in prepayment penalties charged to customers statewide in violation of a 2008 law, according to state financial regulators. Litton Loan Servicing and Saxon Mortgage Services have returned $71,000 collected from 160 Maryland consumers, and Bayview Loan Servicing refunded $104,000 to 40 Marylanders, according to the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The violations were discovered during compliance examinations conducted by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation.

Sarah Bloom Raskin is deeply interested in the economy's effect on everyday life, a driving force in her work to keep Marylanders from being scammed, foreclosed on or caught up in a bank failure. That consumer focus caught White House attention. Raskin, Maryland's top financial regulator, is one of three nominated Thursday by President Barack Obama to fill empty seats on the powerful Federal Reserve Board of Governors. She would join at a fraught time for the Fed, which has been criticized for paying too little attention to consumer issues.

Federal banking regulators have ordered an Eastern Shore bank to take measures to establish adequate capital levels, which could include finding a buyer, merging with another institution or selling shares, among other options. The Bank of the Eastern Shore has 60 days to comply with the prompt correction action issued this week by the Federal Reserve Board, which found the institution undercapitalized at the end of April. The order said that the Cambridge-based bank reported a net loss of almost $3.2 million at the end of June from December 2010 and that its equity capital declined to $7.7 million from $10.9 million.

A House of Delegates panel considered yesterday legislation that would allow for-profit companies to provide credit counseling in the state, opening up an industry tarnished by AmeriDebt Inc., a Maryland nonprofit accused of bilking debt-strapped consumers of millions of dollars. Consumer advocates say the legislation could allow for-profit companies that have been accused of gouging consumers with deceptive sales practices to set up shop in the state. Many of the nonprofit entities that have been investigated by state and federal regulators and by the Internal Revenue Service are affiliated with for-profit companies.

Immigration reform is the right issue — at the wrong time. It's the right issue because, now that substantial health care reform has been achieved, perhaps this nation's greatest remaining travesty is that more than 10 million people live among us in a shadow world of fear and hardship. The vast majority of illegal immigrants stay out of trouble and work hard to support their families, yet most endure poverty, hostility and constant anxiety about being torn from their loved ones and deported.

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee unveiled Tuesday his version of legislation to overhaul the nation's financial regulations, which sharply differs from the Obama administration's plan by proposing the creation of a single federal banking regulatory agency and stripping significant power from the Federal Reserve. The 1,136-page proposal by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., is likely to be strongly opposed by the Fed and the three other bank regulatory agencies. Dodd's legislation also further complicates White House efforts to pass an overhaul by the end of the year because it differs significantly from legislation moving through the House.