Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2017–James Rufus KorenA recent Supreme Court decision that will allow mortgage discrimination cases against Wells Fargo and other banks to proceed is more than just another bad headline for the San Francisco financial giant.
Category: Top National News
How Experian Is Using Big Data And Machine Learning To Cut Mortgage Application Times To A Few Days
Forbes, May 25, 2017–Bernard MarrLarger datasets give a more accurate picture of whatever they represent, leaving less margin for error. This leads to analytics, simulations and insights which more closely reflect real-world outcomes–such as whether someone will repay a loan.
REITs: How Has the S&P 500’s Newest Sector Performed?
GoRion, May 23, 2017–Sam BourgiOn Aug. 31, publicly-traded real estate companies graduated out of the financial services sector into a sector of their own. How has the newest S&P 500 sector performed? The short answer is: not so well.
China Life Buys Sprawling Portfolio of Small-Market U.S. Real Estate
Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2017–Peter Grant (subscription)China Life Insurance Group is buying a 95% stake in 48 commercial properties scattered throughout the U.S. in deal that values the portfolio at $950 million and highlights the growing appetite among foreign investors for real estate in markets they mostly have ignored until now.
A Mortgage for Immigrants with Money But No Credit History
National Mortgage News, May 23, 2017–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Bank of the West’s International Banking Group is using alternative data and the international expertise of its parent company to tap into the lucrative but difficult to underwrite market of middle- and upper-class immigrant mortgage borrowers.
Gamechanger: Zillow Getting into Home Selling with ‘Instant Offers’
HousingWire, May 23, 2017–Ben LaneThrough the program, which is now testing in Las Vegas and Orlando, homeowners looking to sell their home will be able to get cash offers on their home from selected investors interested in buying it, all within Zillow’s platform.
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin: Trump Budget will Reverse Burdensome Regulation
HousingWire, May 23, 2017–Kelsey RamirezSecretary Steven Mnuchin today expressed his approval of President Donald Trump’s newly released budget proposal. He said the proposal will focus the Treasury on managing the nation’s debt and increasing and modernizing efficiencies.
The Return to Sprawl Is More About Supply Than Demand
Bloomberg, May 23, 2017–Justin FoxEveryone wants walkable neighborhoods close to shopping, restaurants and highways. Not everyone can have them.
The Case That Could Doom Elizabeth Warren’s Wall Street Watchdog
Bloomberg, May 23, 2017–Elizabeth DexheimerThe fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its chief, Richard Cordray, is in the hands of a Washington appeals court that will hear arguments Wednesday. The CFPB asked the court to reconsider its 2016 decision involving the agency’s punishment of New Jersey mortgage company PHH Corp.
U.S. Federal Home Loan Banks Rely Less on Short-Term Debt: FHFA’s Watt
Reuters, May 23, 2017–Richard LeongThe U.S. Federal Home Loan Bank system has made progress in depending less on short-term debt to fund its longer-term assets through the sale of longer-dated bonds, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Melvin Watt said on Tuesday.