Category: Top National News

Washington Post, Jan. 11, 2019–Lisa Rein, Jeff Stein The lobbying was led by Robert Broeksmit, chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association, who took the matter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s senior adviser, Treasury officials confirmed.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 13, 2019–Andrew Ackerman (subscription)The Trump administration last week revived a program that is key to home lending, after the mortgage industry said its closure during the partial government shutdown could have forced lenders to delay or scrap loan closings.The Mortgage Bankers Association and other industry groups had complained to the Treasury Department that the program’s closure as part of the shutdown could harm consumers seeking to obtain a loan.

Dodd-Frank Update, Jan. 11, 2019 (free article)The fact that USDA loans have no downpayment requirements and come with relatively low interest rates and fees for rural and suburban homebuyers makes them a particularly affordable option under normal circumstances. The current delay could impact the latter, which could cause an issue for cash-strapped buyers.

UExpress, Jan. 11, 2019–Lew SichelmanSome 6,000-10,000 e-loans have been completed in just the past two years. That’s still just a drop in the proverbial bucket when you consider that more than 6.6 million home loans were written in 2017 alone, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Washington Post, Jan. 10, 2019–Kathy Orton (MBA mention)The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate tumbled to 4.45 percent with an average 0.5 point, Freddie Mac reported.

Scotsman Guide, Jan. 10, 2019–Victor WhitmanThe Milken Institute, in a new paper, recommended that the Trump Administration clear a path for the government to end its 10-year control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but not release control over the government-sponsored enterprises until Congress addresses their “flawed charters.” (MBA mention)

National Mortgage Professional, Jan. 10, 2019–Phil HallThe Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its Mortgage Credit Availability Index fell by 7.3 percent to 175 in December, its lowest level since February 2017.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 10, 2019–Eric Morath (subscription)The Labor Department sent its proposed overtime rule to the White House for review, which could allow the regulation determining how many Americans are entitled to extra pay when working more than 40 hours to be finished by late this year.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 10, 2019–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)The government shutdown could affect mortgage origination credit quality as lenders miss some red flags normally found using data that is not currently available, according to a report from Moody’s.

HousingWire, Jan. 10, 2019–Ben LaneHouseCanary is one big step closer to collecting one of the largest and most unlikely legal awards in the history of the housing industry after a Texas judge denied Amrock’s request for a new trial in the two companies’ battle over the alleged theft of trade secrets.