Category: Top National News

HousingWire, Oct. 3, 2017–Brena SwansonFederal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt once again pressed Congress on the urgent need for housing finance reform due to the looming deadline of the government-sponsored enterprises’ capital buffer timeline.

Reuters, Oct. 3, 2017–Patrick Rucker, Dan FreedSenators grilled Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Executive Tim Sloan on Tuesday about what he had done to change the bank’s culture after a sales practices scandal erupted last year, with one senior Democratic lawmaker calling for his ouster.

New York Times, Oct. 3, 2017–Tara Siegel Bernard, Stacy CowleyMembers of Congress tore into Equifax on Tuesday, berating the company’s former chief executive for a breach of its computer systems that potentially exposed the sensitive personal information of more than 145 million Americans.

National Mortgage News, Oct. 3, 2017–Brian Collins (subscription)While lawmakers appear eager to help develop private flood insurance as an alternative to the federal program, some are worried that private policies won’t help support flood mapping and the enforcement of flood codes.

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 3, 2017–Peter Grant (subscription)Investors are showing more interest in commercial real estate in Asia, South America and other emerging markets, where growth trends and the lure of outsize returns overshadow the additional political and financial risks these regions can pose.

Urban Institute, Oct. 3, 2017–Sarah StrochakOne of the most pronounced shifts in the housing market since the financial crisis has been the evolution of the single-family rental market. Today, single-family rentals (one-unit, attached and detached) account for 35 percent of the country’s 44 million rental units, compared with 31 percent in 2006.

Mortgage Daily, Oct. 3, 2017The volume of HECM activity moved down from the preceding month, when FHA mortgagees generated 4,927 endorsements.

Mortgage Daily, Oct. 3, 2017–Sam GarciaTricia M. Bailey is the new president and chief executive officer of PSM Holdings Inc. The 25-year mortgage veteran previously spent time at Banc of California and PRMG Inc.

HousingWire, Oct. 3, 2017–Ben LaneFidelity National Financial, the title insurance giant, announced this week that it acquired a majority interest in SkySlope, a provider of digital transaction management and closing services to real estate professionals.

Reuters, Oct. 2, 2017–Melissa FaresSince emerging in 1990, more than a million seniors have taken out reverse mortgages, according to the HUD, making them a popular but risky lifeline for asset-rich, cash-poor elderly Americans.