Practices

Mortgage Banking

As legislation and regulations governing the mortgage banking industry evolve and government scrutiny intensifies, clients will need counsel with broad experience and strong industry relationships to help them navigate uncharted territory and develop strategies for success.

Having worked with a wide range of clients in both the residential and commercial mortgage banking industries, our attorneys are at the forefront of rapidly changing federal and state regulatory developments. Our Mortgage Banking Group is part of Ballard Spahr's nationally recognized Consumer Financial Services Group. We combine broad regulatory experience with formidable skill in litigation and depth in enforcement actions and transactions.

To help financial services companies manage the federal approvals, state licenses, and foreign “doing business” registrations they are required to maintain—and avoid penalties for non-compliance—we launched and maintain the Ballard360 LicenSync tracker for clients.

Our team represents clients from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations, including financial institutions; mortgage lenders, brokers, and servicers; secondary-market investors; insurance companies; investment bankers; settlement-service providers; auction platforms; and homebuilders. We also advise industry service providers such as technology vendors, collection agencies, document preparation companies, telemarketers, loan-fulfillment companies, and trade associations.

Compliance

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and its establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have expanded compliance requirements, made compliance more complex, and greatly enhanced penalties for noncompliance. Additionally, other federal agencies and state agencies pay close attention to the mortgage industry.

Our attorneys counsel a variety of market participants on issues such as fair lending, loan-originator compensation and steering restrictions, loan originator overtime requirements, repayment ability requirements, lending standards and restrictions, and TRID rule and other disclosure requirements.

We have experience assisting clients with the ever-expanding range of federal laws, including the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Housing Act (FairHA), the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).

In addition, our team regularly advises clients on applicable state laws and requirements, including those involving licensing, permissible fees, unfair practices, disclosures, advertising, and telemarketing.

State and Federal Licensing

We assist clients in acquiring and maintaining the state licenses necessary to finance, broker, and service mortgages or engage in consumer credit finance activities. We also advise clients on SAFE Act requirements; help them meet branch, loan officer, trade name, and renewal or recertification requirements; and identify and obtain licenses and approvals related to stock and asset acquisitions. In addition, we work with clients to secure approvals from federal agencies, including Ginnie Mae, FHA, and VA, and the GSEs.

Transactions, Due Diligence, and Audits

Clients frequently call upon us to oversee transactional matters such as mergers and acquisitions, liquidations of distressed assets, purchases and sales of mortgage loans, servicing rights and other assets, formation of joint ventures and strategic alliances, and the establishment of warehousing and other credit facilities.

We assist investors with due diligence, conduct audits to ensure compliance, and develop procedures when corrective action is necessary. Our attorneys have experience reviewing operations for compliance with applicable state and federal law, as well as emerging industry trends. Our attorneys have provided counsel in review of a servicer's compliance with the OCC's Consent Order related to foreclosure practices.

Litigation

When mortgage lending and servicing disputes escalate and require litigation, we have clients well-covered. Ballard Spahr is home to a preeminent financial services litigation practice. We defend clients nationwide in class actions, single-plaintiff claims, regulatory proceedings, and other complex mortgage litigation.

We often act as national coordinating counsel in defending litigation for major financial service providers, and we have handled class actions and other lawsuits involving the enforcement of contracts, challenges to contract terms, compliance challenges, insurance issues, and cases concerning RESPA, TILA, ECOA, FairHA, FCRA, FACTA, FDCPA, HMDA, GLBA, TCPA, and state consumer-protection acts.

We also defend clients in administrative-enforcement proceedings and investigations, including CFPB investigations and enforcement actions, state and federal audits, fair housing and fair lending complaints and investigations, HUD, inspector general investigations, and Mortgagee Review Board actions.

Our Mortgage Banking Group maintains strong industry relationships in the private and public sector, and its presence in Washington, D.C., benefits clients who require experienced representation before federal agencies such as the CFPB, HUD, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Justice Department.

We also represent clients before a variety of state agencies, including state attorneys general and state agencies charged with enforcing consumer-finance laws.

Repurchase, Coverage, and Recovery

Loan repurchases are a critical issue for the mortgage and financial services industries. We help limit our clients' exposure to loss stemming from repurchase issues, from evaluating repurchase demands and calculating risk to evaluating insurance coverage, and examining any available protections.