The Lede

Top National News

How to Master Shopping for a Mortgage Online
Money Magazine, Apr. 18, 2016--Salisbury, Ian It's not often that a TV ad for a financial product lights up Twitter. But that's what happened after online lender Quicken Loans aired a minute-long ad touting its new Rocket Mortgage app during the Super Bowl, promising to let you quickly qualify for a mortgage right from your smartphone.
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Interest Rates, a Downer for Banks, Prove a Boon to Trading
Wall Street Journal, Apr. 18, 2016--Eisen, Ben Big U.S. banks have bemoaned low interest rates for years, but instruments linked to those rates have recently proven to be one of the few strong spots for their trading businesses.
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How Much Will Principal Reduction Affect Servicers?
DSNews, Apr. 18, 2016--Honea, Brian  The controversial principal reduction program announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency last week is expected to moderately increase expenses for mortgage servicers who handle delinquent Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans, but overall the impact of the program on servicers is expected to be minimal, according to a report from Fitch Ratings on Monday.
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Shelby Requests Federal Watchdogs Probe FHFA, Fannie, Freddie
Morning Consult, Apr. 18, 2016--Rainey, Ryan Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby on Monday requested the Government Accountability Office and Congressional Budget Office look into practices at the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the government-sponsored enterprises it oversees.
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Mortgage Rates Hit 2016 Low: Is Now the Time to Buy?
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 18, 2016--Skowronski, Jeanine  Here's some good news for current house hunters: mortgage rates hit a new low for the year last week. In fact, rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage are at the lowest mark since May 2013, according to the latest mortgage market survey from Freddie Mac.
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Kashkari Lays Out New Reasons Why Nation’s Biggest Banks Pose Risks to Taxpayers
Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Apr. 18, 2016--Belz, Adam  Financial reform has moved in the right direction, but taxpayers will still likely be on the hook for the future failure of one of the nation's largest banks, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis said Monday.
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Stop Overcharging FHA Borrowers to Subsidize Reverse Mortgage Risks
National Mortgage News, Apr. 18, 2016--Chappelle, Brian Chappelle, founding partner of Potomac Partners, said first-time homebuyers face enough challenges to qualify for a mortgage in today's housing market without having to subsidize the reverse mortgage program.
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UBS Blamed in U.S. Trial for $2.1 Billion in Mortgage Bond Losses
Reuters, Apr. 18, 2016--Raymond, Nate UBS AG went to trial on Monday over $2.1 billion in losses that investors incurred on mortgage-backed securities after the collapse of the U.S. housing market.
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Banks Clear a Lowered Bar
Wall Street Journal, Apr. 18, 2016--Baer, Justin; Rudegeair, Peter Morgan Stanley became the latest big bank to beat Wall Street analysts' expectations with its quarterly earnings results. The victory may feel a little hollow though, and not just because profits at the New York firm dropped 53%. Analysts' estimates have been falling sharply since the start of the year, lowering the bar for the banks.
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Builder Confidence Remains Steady
National Mortgage Professional, Apr. 18, 2016--Hall, Phil This month's level of builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes remained at the same 58 level as last month's reading, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
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GE Capital Mere Days from ‘Exiting’ U.S. Banking System
HousingWire, Apr. 18, 2016--Lane, Ben GE Capital, once a big player in housing finance, is now just a handful of days away from exiting the U.S. banking system after the company completed the sale of its online deposit platform to Goldman Sachs.
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Residential Finance News

Commercial/Multifamily News

MBA News

MBA Understanding Mystery of Secondary Marketing May 10, 24
MBA Education presents its popular Understanding the Mystery of Secondary Marketing Webinars. Part I takes place Tuesday, May 10; Part II takes place Tuesday, Mar. 24. 
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FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool Deep Dive Workshop May 12
MBA Education presents its popular FFIEC Cybersecurity Assessment Tool Deep Dive Workshop on Thursday, May 12 at Jones Day in Dallas. 
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