HUD Moves to Officially Revise FHA Lien Pecking Order

HUD announced Monday it intends to require liens created by energy retrofit programs to remain subordinate to loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration. MBA President and CEO David Stevens said the move supports efforts to promote renewable energy solutions for FHA insured homes, but protects the lien priority and lien rights of the first mortgage.

RBS Loses Bid to Toss U.S. Regulator’s Mortgage Bond Lawsuit

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc has lost a bid to escape a U.S. regulator’s lawsuit accusing it of misleading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into buying $32 billion of mortgage-backed securities ahead of the financial crisis.

Barclays Sees Fed Rate Hike in Early 2016

Barclays’ U.S. economists pushed out their forecast on the timing of a rate increase from the Federal Reserve to March 2016 from their earlier call of September in the wake of recent volatile market conditions due to anxiety about the Chinese economy.

Will Wall Street’s Convulsions Impact Housing?

The one-two punch of a 1,000-point drop last week for the Dow Jones and another 1,000-point plunge in early trading this morning has been among the most dramatic negative activity seen on Wall Street in some time. But how does this tumultuous activity impact the U.S. housing market? David H. Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), stated that the display of Chinese shakiness serves to highlight the economic stability on this side of the Pacific.