Howard Botts could be in Los Angeles and tell you within 15 minutes of a tornado touching down in the Midwest, if any, properties sustained damage and the severity of the damage. He’s not psychic; he’s scientific.
Category: News and Trends
February Pending Homes Sales Up 2.4%
Pending home sales rose for the second straight month in February—perhaps one last lagging indicator before the coronavirus fallout—the National Association of Realtors reported yesterday.
Federal Agencies Issue Final Rule to Mitigate CECL Effects
Three federal agencies on Friday announced actions to allow banking organizations to continue lending to households and businesses: providing an optional extension of the regulatory capital transition for the new credit loss accounting standard; and allowing early adoption of a new methodology on how certain banking organizations are required to measure counterparty credit risk derivatives contracts.
MBA, Trade Groups Petition FCC for ‘Emergency Purposes Exception’ on Mortgage Servicing Calls
The Mortgage Bankers Association joined other industry trade groups in a letter Monday to the Federal Communications Commission, arguing that mortgage servicing calls (and other financial institution notices) should be deemed emergency calls by the FCC and exempt from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act during the COVID19 emergency.
MBA Advocacy Update
MBA remains active on efforts regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In this week’s communication, you will find several updates pertaining to industry efforts to provide relief to both our members and their customers.
MBA Chart of the Week: Unemployment Insurance–Initial Claims
Last week provided our first indication of just how severe the shutdown of the U.S. economy could be, as Americans combat the ongoing spread of the coronavirus.
MBA Honors 2020 Tech All-Stars
The Mortgage Bankers Association announced its Tech All-Star Awards to five visionary leaders in the mortgage technology industry.
MBA Launches COVID-19 Members-Only Online Network
The Mortgage Bankers Association launched a new members-only online network, MBA’s COVID-19 Residential Policy Community.
MBA 2020 Tech All-Star Julie Felts: Driving Force Behind Amrock’s eClosing Domination
Like many homebuyers, Julie Felts and her husband did not have a positive experience at the closing table. With mounds of paperwork and a seller in tears sitting just across from them, the close was nightmarishly long, inconvenient, stressful and emotionally draining. “I just remember thinking there should be a better way to do this; we shouldn’t have to be in the same place at the same time,” she says.
MBA Raises Concerns with SEC on Broker-Dealer Margin Call Volatility
The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a letter Sunday to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, raised “urgent concern” about dramatic price volatility in the market for agency mortgage-backed securities over the past week that leading to broker-dealer margin calls on mortgage lenders’ hedge positions that are unsustainable for many such lenders.