National Mortgage News, Apr. 6, 2017–Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers originated $490.6 billion closed loans in 2016, making it the third strongest year on record despite the pressure higher rates have put on volume, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.
Category: Top National News
Court Upholds $500,000 Award to Overland Woman from Mortgage Services Company
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 6, 2017–Robert PatrickA federal appeals court upheld a jury award of $500,000 to an Overland woman, saying that jurors had “ample evidence” to find that her mortgage services company, Nationstar Mortgae LLC, “acted with a reckless indifference to her rights.”
Is the Trump Administration Serious about Restoring Glass-Steagall?
National Mortgage News, Apr. 6, 2017–Ian McKendry (subscription)Observers are divided whether National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn’s support for a modernized Glass-Steagall Act is purely opportunistic or a sincere wish to significantly reshape the financial services industry.
S&P: Mortgage-Backed Security Market Making a Comeback in 2017
HousingWire, Apr. 6, 2017–Ben LaneA new report from Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings shows that residential mortgage-backed securities-related issuance doubled in the first quarter compared to last year.
Mortgage Applications Fall 1.6%, But Average Loan Size Hits Record High
CNBC, Apr. 5, 2017–Diana OlickThe steep drop in refinance activity since interest rates spiked following the presidential election continues to keep overall volume in the negative from a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.
Fed Minutes: Most Officials Saw Reduced Balance Sheet ‘Later This Year’
Wall Street Journal, Apr. 5, 2017–Nick Timiraos (subscription)Federal Reserve officials agreed at their March policy meeting that they would likely begin shrinking a $4.5 trillion portfolio of Treasury and mortgage securities later this year, though they remained undecided on some important tactical questions, such as how quickly to reduce the holdings and to what level.
Why the Refinancing Slowdown Matters for the Fed
Wall Street Journal, Apr. 5, 2017–Ben Eisen; Min Zeng (subscription)The Federal Reserve has been buying up fewer mortgage bonds in recent months thanks to a flameout of the American refinancing boom, one factor that economists say is likely to help shape Fed officials’ thinking as they consider shrinking their giant bond portfolio.
Hensarling to CFPB’s Cordray: You Deserve to Be Fired Immediately
HousingWire, Apr. 5, 2017–Ben LaneOn Wednesday, Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, appeared before the House Financial Services Committee for his twice-a-year Molotov cocktail of compliments and insults from the committee’s Democrats and Republicans.
ADP Predicts Yet Another Month of Substantial Job Increases
HousingWire, Apr. 5, 2017–Kelsey RamirezPrivate sector employment increased a seasonally-adjusted 263,000 in March, the report showed. This is down slightly from February’s predicted increase of 298,000.
Empty Seats at Regulators Hold Back Trump Bid to Undo Dodd-Frank
Bloomberg, Apr. 5, 2017–Benjamin Bain; Robert SchmidtPresident Donald Trump’s push to roll back Wall Street regulations is being held up by his inability to fill open seats at the two main agencies charged with overseeing the financial industry.