HousingWire, Jan. 17, 2019–Kelsey RamirezMost recent data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that commercial and multifamily lending hit record highs in 2017; MBA’s latest forecast suggested 2018 would likely be another record year for commercial and multifamily mortgage lending.
Category: Top National News
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Add New Provisions as Shutdown Persists
National Mortgage News, Jan. 17, 2019–Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are adding another round of new underwriting requirements and a workaround for employment verification in response to the prolonged government shutdown.
Mortgage Applications Surge 13.5% as Borrowers Rush to Take Advantage of Lower Rates
CNBC, Jan. 16, 2019–Diana OlickMortgage application volume rose 13.5 percent last week, compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
New House Financial Services Chair to Investigate Mulvaney for Interim CFPB Role
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 16, 2019–Andrew Ackerman (subscription)New House Financial Services Committee Chairman Maxine Waters plans to investigate White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney over his previous role as the Trump administration’s temporary head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
FHFA Will No Longer Defend Agency’s Constitutionality in Court
National Mortgage News, Jan. 16, 2019–Hannah Lang (subscription)The Federal Housing Finance Agency will no longer defend the constitutionality of its single-director leadership structure in court, according to a new case filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Texas.
IBM Lays Off 310 Mortgage Servicing Staff at Seterus
HousingWire, Jan. 16, 2019–Jessica GureinMore than 300 employees working for mortgage servicer Seterus in Durham, North Carolina, will be out of a job come March. The news, revealed by a local CBS affiliate, comes just days after Mr. Cooper Group announced it had purchased Seterus from IBM.
BofA’s Loan Growth Drives Better-than-Expected Profit
Reuters, Jan. 16, 2019–Imani Moise, Siddarth CavaleBank of America Corp’s quarterly profit topped analyst estimates on Wednesday as a growing loan book helped it ride out year-end market turbulence, sending the lender’s shares up more then 5 percent.
Fiserv Buying First Data in $22 Billion Deal to Build Fintech Scale
American Banker, Jan. 16, 2019–John Adams (subscription)Fiserv will acquire First Data in an all-stock deal with a value of about $22 billion that will combine two of the financial services industry’s largest technology and processing companies. Fiserv shareholders will own almost 58%t of the combined company, with First Data’s shareholders holding the rest.
Rick Arvielo Looking to Reach Millennial and Minority Borrowers with Technology
Mortgage Media, Jan. 16, 2019Rick Arvielo, New American Funding CEO, talked with Mortgage Media’s SA Ibrahim at SocialSurvey’s Create WOW Summit about the company’s growth, and discussed how New American might step up to the next level.
Fed Says Student Debt Has Hurt the U.S. Housing Market
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 16, 2019–Josh Mitchell, Laura Kusisto (subscription)The Federal Reserve has linked rising student debt to a drop in homeownership among young Americans and the flight of college graduates from rural areas, two big shifts that have helped reshape the U.S. economy.