Business Insiders, May 14, 2017–Joe CiolliInvestors are wagering on closures and bankruptcies – events that would hurt holders of commercial mortgage-backed securities.
Category: Top National News
Republicans May be Able to Overturn Two Decades of Regulatory Guidance
National Mortgage News, May 12, 2017–Ian McKendry (subscription)Republicans are working on a plan that could extend its reach so that it may be used to overturn certain policies all the way back to 1996. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., has led the effort to explore the outer bounds of the obscure legislative process that had hardly been used before President Trump took office.
Mortgage Rates Edge Higher But Remain within a Narrow Band
Washington Post, May 11, 2017–Kathy OrtonThe 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate ticked up to 4.05 percent with an average 0.5 point tis week compared to 4.02 percent a week ago.
Keeping Mortgage Giants Fannie and Freddie Under Government Control is Increasingly Risky, Regulator Says
MarketWatch, May 11, 2017–Andrea RiquierThe conservatorship that’s ensnared Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ever since the financial crisis is increasingly unsustainable, warned the director of the mortgage giants’ regulator on Thursday.
AIG Plans to Name Brian Duperreault as Next CEO
Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2017–Joann S. Lublin, Leslie Schism (subscription)American International Group Inc. plans to name Brian Duperreault-a onetime lieutenant to former CEO Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg-as the firm’s chief executive officer.
Urban Institute: Demand for Institutional SFR Financing Will Grow
HousingWire, May 11, 2017–Kelsey RamirezEarlier this year, Fannie Mae backed Blackstone’s Invitation Homes’ $1 billion single family rental debt. Now, many are beginning to speculate over the GSE’s future moves in the SFR market.
Hedge Funds Are Facing a U.S. Criminal Probe Over Bond Valuations
Bloomberg, May 11, 2017–Matt Robinson, Christian Berthelsen, Chris Dolmetsch, Matt ScullyU.S. prosecutors are investigating one of Wall Street’s darkest markets, focusing on hedge funds suspected of inflating the value of debt securities in their portfolios to juice the fees they collect.
U.S. Labor Market Tightening; Inflation Pressures Building
Reuters, May 11, 2017–Lucia MutikaniNew applications for U.S. jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week while producer prices rebounded strongly in April, pointing to a tightening labor market and rising inflation that could spur the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in June.
Mortgage Bankers Bump Q2 Refi Forecast
Mortgage Daily, May 11, 2017The Mortgage Bankers Association, which made the predictions in its MBA Mortgage Finance Forecast, raised the current quarter’s projection from $459 billion expected in its April outlook.
Conditions Ripe for Rise in Millennial Homebuying
Detroit Free Press, May 11, 2017–Susan TomporWhile millennials aren’t likely to do things the way their parents did, it’s increasingly becoming clear that they aren’t going rent or live in their parents’ basements forever, either.