The Conference of State Bank Supervisors announced the start of the license renewal period for individuals and businesses that provide mortgage, money transmission, debt collection and consumer financial services to consumers. These individuals and businesses are required to maintain and renew licensure through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System.
Category: News and Trends

Balancing the Joy of Home-Buying and the Agony of Mortgage Loan Processing with Blockchain
Close your eyes and imagine a world with real-time borrower and property data available that was guaranteed to be accurate. Pipe dream you say? I say near-future achievable.

MBA Chart of the Week: CPI Inflation–Shelter Costs
Housing affordability challenges–for both buying and renting–continue to be a topic of discussion. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shelter costs continue to outpace the price growth of overall goods and services, as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

The Week Ahead
A busy month continues for the Mortgage Bankers Association, with several reports coming in the next two weeks.

Ellie Mae: Millennial Home Refinance Boom at 3-Year High
Ellie Mae, Pleasanton, Calif., said Millennials closed 33% of all mortgage refinances in September, the largest such share since it began tracking data in January 2016.

MISMO Issues Taxpayer Consent Language as Solution for New IRS Requirement on Sharing Tax Transcripts
MISMO, the mortgage industry standards organization, issued its Taxpayer Consent Language, which permits lenders to share tax information received from the Internal Revenue Service with other parties involved in a mortgage transaction.

Luxury Housing Market Stabilizes in 3Q After Weak First Half
Redfin, Seattle, said average sale prices for luxury homes nationwide rose by 0.3 percent year over year to $1.6 million in the third quarter, marking the first time luxury prices did not drop after three straight quarters of declines.

2019 MBA Annual Convention Survey Scorecard
The following report was prepared from the 28 face-to-face surveys I conducted with senior mortgage executives from 28 different firms in Austin, Texas at the MBA Annual Convention held 27-30 October. They are designed to capture the thinking, attitudes and expectations of an industry through one-on-one interviews with execs from, in this instance, 28 different mortgage firms. My goal is to create a microcosm of the industry using the MBA’s membership as the universe.

MBA Announces Two Affordable Housing Advisory Councils
The Mortgage Bankers Association announced formation of two advisory councils as part of its new affordable housing initiative.

Commercial Servicing Software Must be Flexible
Commercial servicing software needs to be flexible and scalable. It must accommodate a variety of loan products; include commercial-specific reporting, payment and escrow administration functionality; and provide support for asset managers.