The Lede

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 21, 2016--Buell, Todd; Hannon, Paul The European Central Bank stands ready to use "all instruments available," including further cuts in all its interest rates, to ensure the inflation rate returns to its target, ECB President Mario Draghi said Thursday.

Washington Post, Apr. 21, 2016--Orton, Kathy Mortgage rates were flat this week, continuing to hover at lows not seen in the past three years.

Reuters, Apr. 21, 2016 Home resales rebounded more than expected in March as supply improved, suggesting the housing market recovery remained intact despite signs that economic growth probably stalled in the first quarter. The Mortgage Bankers Association showed mortgage applications last week rose to their highest level in nine weeks as interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hovered at their lowest point in more than a year.

NBC News, Apr. 21, 2016--Cepeda, Esther J. Arvielo started in the mortgage industry at age 16 and eventually went on to transform New American Funding into a national mortgage lender and servicer that funds more than $900 million in home loans each month.

HousingWire, Apr. 21, 2016--Gaffney, Jacob The common view that nonbanks are taking over the mortgage space from the big banks in a meaningful way is being muted by a harsh-reality report from Moody's Investors Service.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 21, 2016--Finkelstein, Brad The company's results were affected by the costs related to shutting the delinquent loan services business.

HousingWire, Apr. 21, 2016--Lane, Ben The DOJ announced Wednesday that Benjamin Wagner, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California and spent five years as a co-chair of the Mortgage Fraud Working Group of the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, is resigning at the end of April.

Reuters, Apr. 21, 2016--Mutikani, Lucia The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, hitting its lowest level since 1973, suggesting an apparent sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter could be temporary.

The Real Deal (New York), Apr. 21, 2016--Putzier, Konrad The Blackstone Group's real estate division passed the $100 billion mark in assets under management in the first quarter, while its earnings recovered slightly from a dip at the end of 2015.

TechCrunch, Apr. 21, 2016--LaRue, Aaron Home loans are the Holy Grail of online lending. They come with high loan balances, steady returns and hefty fees. So why can't startups disrupt the mortgage industry?

MBA Education's four-part Residential Underwriting Basics Webinar series continues April 26, online. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Small Balance Lending Summit takes place June 22-23 at the Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel.  

The Mortgage Bankers Association's training and education division, MBA Education, announced re-launch of its online self-study library.  

The Mortgage Action Alliance is a voluntary, non-partisan and free nationwide grassroots lobbying network of real estate finance industry professionals, affiliated with the Mortgage Bankers Association.