The Lede

Fannie Mae is overhauling its mortgage program for low- to moderate-income households to better accommodate today's financial and familial realities.

Dreams of reconciliation between big banks and the Federal Housing Administration got a rude awakening this week.

Substantial changes in mortgage market predictions are being announced by credible analysts. For example, the Mortgage Bankers Association released its updated mortgage finance and economic forecasts. The revision included a significant increase in the volume of purchase originations.

The mortgage industry is pushing for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to adopt a formalized grace period for the enforcement of the complex TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure requirements, and now Mortgage Bankers Association is pushing Congress to take action.

The city of Miami's lawsuits claiming three major banks engaged in discriminatory mortgage lending practices for years will continue in federal court.

These days, baby boomers increasingly are carrying that debt into retirement. And while there are pluses to that (the interest rate deduction for some), many financial planners now advise their clients to pay off the mortgage. But they are much more concerned with credit-card, auto-loan and student-loan debt.

Years after the great American housing bust, mortgages akin to the so-called liar loans -- which were made without verifying people's finances -- are creeping back into the market. And, like last time, they're spreading risks far and wide via Wall Street.

Stung by a wave of investor criticism, Bank of America is stepping up efforts to convince shareholders that Chief Executive Brian Moynihan should remain chairman.