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.
Category: Top National News

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.

Appeals Court Affirms FTC Authority Over Corporate Data-Security Practices
A federal appeals court on Monday bolstered the Federal Trade Commission’s power to police corporate cybersecurity, affirming the commission can bring cases against companies for failing to protect customer information.

Blackstone Acquires Majority Stake in Nonbank Lender Stearns
Blackstone Group has acquired a majority stake in the parent company of nonbank mortgage lender Stearns Lending.

Five Reports You Need To Watch Before The Fed’s Next Meeting
August data just became even more important.

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.

Black Monday Hits Housing, Mortgage Finance Worse than Dow, NASDAQ
The Black Monday market collapse is hitting the stocks that drive the housing and mortgage finance economy worse than the major indices in early trading.

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.