The U.S. Treasury security yield values for July 2010 may be viewed online here.  The yield is determined as of the 15th day of the month immediately preceding the month in which the creditor receives the application.  The yield value is used for Section 32 and most state high-cost tests. These values will, therefore, be used for loan applications received by the creditor in August 2010.

This month DSI posts updates to the loan program of Branch Banking and Trust and SunTrust Mortgage to its Compliance page.  Find out the description of each investor's loan program, which promissory notes, prepayment riders and addenda are used, and what the rate caps and interest-only periods are for variable rate loans by visiting our Investor Updates page.

The following article is reprinted with permission from the National Flood Observer Quarterly Newsletter for Summer 2010 here.

FEMA's Flood Map Modernization Program has produced thousands of revised Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) over the past six years, impacting homeowners across the United States as new and adjusted flood hazards are revealed.  One result of the extensive remapping effort is the mandated purchase of flood insurance for mortgage holders who are newly included in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs).  In 2009 alone, more than 29 million properties with mortgages were impacted by FIRM updates, over 402,000 of which were newly identified as being "IN" an SFHA and requiring insurance.*

A lender desiring to sell a mortgage loan to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac must pass the respective government-sponsored enterprise's ("GSE's") Points and Fees Test and HOEPA Test.  To assist DocMagic users in determining whether they pass/fail the applicable Points and Fees Test and HOEPA Test, DocMagic has implemented audit messages as described in the Fannie Mae High Cost Tests: Maximum Points and Fees and HOEPA Mortgages memo, click here, and the Freddie Mac Anti-Predatory Lending High Cost Tests: Maximum Points and Fees and HOEPA Mortgages memo, click here. 

Written by Jennifer Dozier* 

When advertising closed-end credit products, lenders and brokers must be mindful of the requirements of Regulation Z.  Within the last year, amendments to Regulation Z went into effect that restrict certain practices when advertising closed-end credit secured by a dwelling.1  These same amendments also require additional disclosures when advertising certain loan terms.  This article will help guide lenders and brokers through the new "dos" and "don'ts" of closed-end credit advertisements.