CFPB’s Mulvaney Set to Drop PHH Case

National Mortgage News, June 6, 2018–Kate Berry (Free content)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is poised to dismiss its case against PHH Corp., a nonbank mortgage lender and servicer whose appeal of a $109 million penalty led to a four-year legal battle over whether the agency’s single-director structure was constitutional.

Home Lending Profits Plunge Despite Higher Revenues

Mortgage Daily, June 6, 2018The Mortgage Bankers Association said although mortgage bankers pushed up quarterly revenues, rising expenses resulting from slowing originations dragged them into the red. Wholesale lenders suffered the most.

Huge Profit, Increased Lending at Ditech

Mortgage Daily, June 6, 2018Fresh out of bankruptcy, Ditech Holding Corp. reported a huge profit and a quarter-over-quarter increase in home lending. The servicing portfolio, however, was diminished.

Agency MSR Offering Has California Concentration

Mortgage Daily, June 6, 2018MSRs are being offered on 5,671 single-family loans that had an aggregate unpaid principal balance of $1.268 billion as of April 30.

Mortgage Banks in The Red For Q

Mortgage News Daily, June 6, 2018–Jann SwansonThe Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday that independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported net production losses in the first quarter of 2018, for only the second time since MBA began tracking the data in 2008.

Celebrity Financial Acquiring Midwest Equity Mortgage

Mortgage Orb, June 6, 2018–Patrick BarnardCelebrity Financial Inc., a U.S. Virgin Islands-based diversified financial services holding company, is acquiring Midwest Equity Mortgage, an Illinois-based independent mortgage lender, for an undisclosed sum.

New Tax Laws Have Home Buyers Checking New Places

Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2018–Robyn A. Friedman (subscription)New tax rules that cap deductions of state and local taxes are having a disproportionate effect on taxpayers who live in states with high income taxes and property taxes. While it’s too early to quantify the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which became effective on Jan. 1, some real-estate professionals say they are beginning to see early signs of an exodus to low-tax states.

Mick Mulvaney Guts 3 CFPB Advisory Boards

HousingWire, June 6, 2018–Jeremiah JensenActing Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Mick Mulvaney gutted three CFPB Advisory Boards today. The Consumer Advisory Board, Community Bank Advisory Council, and the Credit Union Advisory Council were all disbanded.

Why Loosening the Reins on QM May Put a Dent in GSE Market Share

National Mortgage News, June 5, 2018–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)The recent growth in the non-QM market and concurrently, in private-label securitizations, is a result of participants across the loan life cycle becoming more comfortable with the risk characteristics of these loans, especially as interest rates rise.