Category: Top National News

HousingWire, Feb. 7, 2017–Brena SwansonHouse Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, told Stuart Varney on Fox Business that “personnel is policy” and urged President Trump to immediately fire Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

National Real Estate Investor, Feb. 6, 2017–Elaine MisonzhnikAll types of capital providers-banks, insurance companies, conduit lenders and private equity funds-are actively looking for deals, and loan terms continue to be attractive, even if loan-to-value ratios have not moved much above 65 percent.

National Mortgage Professional, Feb. 6, 2017–Phil HallNearly 6.5 percent of home build before 2000 and 10.3 percent of homes built in the 1990s were transitioned from owner-occupied into rental properties, according to a new study from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Research Institute for Housing America.

National Mortgage News, Feb. 6, 2017–Brian CollinsYear-end adjustments to mortgage industry employment statistics revealed a larger-than-expected increase in hiring by nondepository lenders and brokers during 2016.

HousingWire, Feb. 6, 2017–Kelsey RamirezDBRS said the persistently low interest rate environment rendered securitization uneconomical for many issuers. However, as interest rates begin to rise, the RMBS market is beginning to change.

HousingWire, Feb. 6, 2017–Ben LaneThe Securities and Exchange Commission is giving up in its case against two former executives Thornburg Mortgage who stood accused of hiding the financial condition of Thornburg as the once-dominant mortgage lender stumbled towards collapse during the financial crisis.

Cato Institute, Feb. 6, 2017–Mark A. CalabriaAuthor says Treasury Secretary designate Steven Mnuchin should strongly consider reviving a plan developed by his predecessor, John Snow. That plan would take advantage of the Treasury’s authority to place limits on Fannie and Freddie’s debt issuance to reduce those agencies’ indebtedness. The reduction can and should be done in a controlled manner that could be easily reversed if necessary.

Crain’s Chicago Business, Feb. 6, 2017Almost a decade after it all began, the Federal Reserve is finally talking about unwinding its grand experiment in monetary policy. And when it happens, the knock-on effects in the bond market could pose a threat to the U.S. housing recovery.

The Hill, Feb. 6, 2017–Diane Yentel; Mark CalabriaYentel, with the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and Calabria, with the Cato Institute, call the mortgage interest deduction “a wasteful use of federal resources that encourages households to take on higher levels of debt, disrupts the housing market by increasing costs for everyone, and mostly benefits those who do not need federal assistance to live in a stable home.”

Reuters, Feb. 6, 2017–Howard SchneiderLoan officers at U.S. banks reported largely unchanged lending standards and slightly looser terms for business loans in the last three months of 2016, the Federal Reserve reported Monday in a quarterly survey.