CNBC, Jan. 10, 2018–Diana OlickTotal application volume rose 8.3 percent during the first week of the year from the previous week, as mortgage rates held below year-ago levels, according to the seasonally adjusted Mortgage Bankers Association report.
Category: Top National News
The ‘Unintended’ Effect of New Tax Laws on Property Tax Servicing
Mortgage Orb, Jan. 10,2018–Mark CollinsMortgage servicers have set up a very complicated system that attempts to get taxes paid on time and allows them time to perform research on exceptions. This fragile system of timing tax payments has now collided with the new tax laws introduced just before the end of 2017, which threw a wrinkle into this already delicate framework.
Fed Sent Roughly $80.2 Billion in Profit to U.S. Treasury in 2017
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 10, 2018–Kate Davidson (subscription)Remittances from the Federal Reserve to the U.S. Treasury declined for the second straight year in 2017 as rising short-term interest rates weighed on its profit, the central bank said Wednesday.
Is CFPB’s Data Freeze About Security or a Political Ploy?
National Mortgage News, Jan. 10, 2018–John Heltman (subscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent freeze on collecting any personally identifiable information from companies it supervises is slowing investigations and could ultimately cripple the agency’s enforcement function–and that may be the point, according to former agency and law enforcement officials.
Top Democrats Want Credit Reporting Agencies Severely Punished for Equifax-Style Breaches
HousingWire, Jan. 10, 2018–Ben Lane Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., introduced a bill that would increase oversight of credit reporting agencies and allow the government to impose financial penalties on the agencies for failing to secure consumer data.
Freddie Mac Settles With Evicted REO Tenant
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jan. 10, 2018–Cary SpivakAlishia Evans, the Milwaukee woman who was conned by a bogus landlord and then bounced by police from the home she thought she would be renting, is receiving a financial settlement from Freddie Mac, the giant mortgage agency that owned the house.
Trump Administration Seeks to Change Rules on Bank Lending to the Poor
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 10, 2018–Rachel Louise Ensign, Ryan Tracy (subscription)Changes to the regulations of the Community Reinvestment Act-a law first enacted in 1977-could potentially transform the way banks make billions of dollars in loans, investments and donations to poorer customers. In all, they could make it easier for banks to meet certain lending requirements and lower penalties for compliance problems.
Judge Denies Injunction to Remove Mick Mulvaney as CFPB Acting Direcor
Los Angeles Times, Jan. 10, 2018–Jim PuzzangheraA federal judge on Wednesday denied a request for a preliminary injunction to remove Mick Mulvaney as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Home Equity Business Grows at CA Credit Unions
Mortgage Daily, Jan. 10, 2018Despite a tumble in first-mortgage production at California’s credit unions, outstandings grew. Home-equity production and outstandings, however, jumped.
What Citi’s Move Toward Digitalization Means for Mortgage Lenders
HousingWire, Jan. 9, 2018–Kelsey RamirezWith this new move into the digital space, Citi is increasing its ability to become a major player in the mortgage industry, and could even soon enter the top 10 ranks of top mortgage lenders.