The Lede

Home buyers today would have to spend nearly $1,400 more per year on their mortgage than they would have a year ago, as rates have risen rapidly since the beginning of 2018, said Zillow, Seattle.

The Mortgage Bankers Association and other industry trade groups urged federal banking agencies to streamline the "Volcker Rule" to reduce costs for businesses.

TransUnion, Chicago, said growth in home equity could lead to a surge in home equity lending over the next year. However, the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University said home improvement and repair spending is expected to soften in 2019.

Rent prices in single-family rental properties increased 3.1 percent year-over-year in August, reported CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif.

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The mortgage industry's adoption of financial technology will be more evolutionary than revolutionary, two mortgage technology leaders said here at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Annual Convention & Expo.

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The mortgage industry's adoption of financial technology will be more evolutionary than revolutionary, two mortgage technology leaders said here at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Annual Convention & Expo.

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The mortgage industry's adoption of financial technology will be more evolutionary than revolutionary, two mortgage technology leaders said here at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Annual Convention & Expo.

HousingWire, Oct. 22, 2018--Jessica GuerinIn a mortgagee letter, FHA updated guidelines for servicers when submitting a HECM to HUD for assignment, which is done when the loan reaches a maximum claim amount of 98%.

UPI, Oct. 22, 2018--Daniel UriaSpecifically, the groups are offering the loans to buyers with poor or rehabbing credit, which was one of the issues that contributed to the last meltdown -- buyers who couldn't afford the mortgages they had. Bank of America and NACA, though, say they have a vetting system in place to help prospective home buyers who shouldn't be excluded by credit score alone.

Mortgage Daily, Oct. 22, 2018For the first time since it began reporting mortgage servicing data six years ago, Quicken Loans Inc. has pushed the servicing portfolio past $300 billion.

American Banker, Oct. 22, 2018--Hannah Lang (subscription)The industry has eagerly awaited revisions to the Volcker Rule, but so far regulators' proposal to simplify the compliance process is getting panned both by critics of the proprietary trading ban and by its most ardent supporters. (MBA mention)

Bloomberg, Oct. 19, 2018--Natalie Wong, Justina VasquezNew York developer Silverstein Properties Inc. built a $4 billion pipeline of real estate deals just weeks after starting. None of the money was for buildings it will own.

Scotsman Guide, Oct. 19, 2018--Victor WhitmanMick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, delivered what seemed to be a clear message this week at the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual convention in the nation's capital. He stressed that the bureau's focus has changed, and that the prior CFPB leadership's era of regulation by enforcement is over.

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 21, 2018--Yuka Hayahsi (subscription)Brian Johnson spent years as a congressional aide organizing Republican attacks on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Now, he is its No. 2 official, playing a central role in the Trump administration's reshaping of the consumer-finance regulator.

National Mortgage News, Oct. 19, 2018--John Reosti (subscription)Bank OZK in Little Rock, Ark., did more than stub its toe when it reported lower profit tied to two big chargeoffs. The $22 billion-asset company may have lost the confidence of investors for the foreseeable future, even though management used an earnings call to passionately defend its heavy reliance on commercial real estate lending, where the chargeoffs took place.

American Banker, Oct. 18, 2018--Hannah Lang (subscription)Donald Layton has just under a year before he retires as CEO of Freddie Mac after more than 40 years in the financial services industry, but the coming months are shaping up to be some of the most formative at the company since Layton joined in 2012.

Daily Breeze (Calif.), Oct. 18, 2018--Jeff LazersonThe Federal Housing Finance Agency, which is both the conservator and the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will likely increase the maximum loan limits for Fannie and Freddie according to Andy Leventis, FHFA's deputy chief economist. (MBA mention)

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 18, 2018--Yuka Hayashi (subscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked an independent government watchdog to investigate past racial remarks made by Eric Blankenstein, its top enforcement official. CFPB acting Director Mick Mulvaney has sent an investigation request to the inspector general's office for the Federal Reserve and CFPB.

DS News, Oct. 18, 2018--Radhika OjhaShort-term liquidity is a key factor in driving mortgage default, according to a research by the JPMorgan Chase Institute. The research, titled, Falling Behind: Bank Data on the Role of Income and Savings in Mortgage Default, measured the impact of a mortgage payment and principal reduction on default and consumption.

Progress in Lending, Oct. 17, 2018--Tony GarritanoAccording to a recently published working paper by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and New York University, fintech lenders have quickly expanded their market share since the Financial Crisis, and in the process have developed efficiencies that give them a significant advantage over more traditional lenders.

HousingWire, Oct. 16, 2018--Ben LaneBoth Wells Fargo and Bank of America rolled out digital mortgage applications this year, and the megabanks revealed Tuesday at the MBA Annual Convention just how much the programs are already being utilized by mortgage applicants. Hint: A lot.

Mortgage Daily, Oct. 16, 2018Annual securitizations were the lowest they've been in three years at Ginnie Mae. Jumbo issuance plunged by a third, but reverse mortgage activity was higher. The government-owned corporation's book of business broke $2 trillion.

Washington Post, Oct. 17, 2018--Michele LernerMortgage fraud was so rampant during the height of the housing bubble in the mid-2000s that real estate industry insiders started to refer to some mortgages as "liar's loans." While stricter regulations after the bubble burst and fines on mortgage lenders who knowingly approved fraudulent loans curbed the practice, CoreLogic, a real estate data firm, recently reported an uptick in mortgage fraud.

Reuters, Oct. 16, 2018--Brendan PiersonNomura Holdings Inc. agreed to pay $480 million to resolve civil claims by the U.S. government that it misled investors in marketing residential mortgage-backed securities, U.S. authorities said on Tuesday.

National Mortgage News, Oct. 16, 2018--Andy Higginbotham (subscription)Innovation, disruption, change--these words are not generally associated with the mortgage industry. But in a digital age where consumers' expectations are shifting, that needs to change. The industry must provide a faster, less paper-intensive process and give consumers more control.