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The new acting head of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reviewing whether Wells Fargo & Co. should pay tens of millions of dollars over alleged mortgage lending abuse, Reuters. The San Francisco-based bank said in October that it would refund homebuyers who were wrongly charged fees to secure low mortgage rates — a black mark against a lender which has already been roiled by scandal over its treatment of customers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) had been investigating the mortgage issue since early this year, said one current and two former officials. The agency accepted an internal review from Wells Fargo and set settlement terms in early November, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak about internal discussions. But that matter and roughly a dozen others are in question now that Mick Mulvaney, the agency chief tapped by President Donald Trump, has said he is reviewing the CFPB’s prior work.

The three major hurricanes that caused so much devastation during August and September was largely responsible for the third-quarter increase in mortgage delinquencies, NationalMortgageNews.com reported. The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate of 4.88 percent was 64 basis points higher than the second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Delinquency Survey. The 30-day delinquency rate was responsible for 50 basis points of that increase, said Marina Walsh, the MBA's vice president of industry analysis, in a press release. Compared with one year ago, delinquencies were 36 basis points higher. Read more.

This year’s hurricane season has become one of the most destructive in recent memory. To provide assistance to those affected and direct others in how you can help, ABI encourages you to visit our Hurricane Relief webpage.