The Lede

HousingWire, Feb. 2, 2016--Swanson, Brena; Lane, Ben The Federal Housing Finance Administration announced Tuesday morning that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are changing their loan purchasing rules to establish an independent third-party review process for loans that trigger a repurchase request due to perceived violations of the government-sponsored enterprises' representation and warranty framework. David Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said that these new rules will help "broaden access to credit for borrowers" by providing lenders with more clarity about how Fannie and Freddie will handle repurchase requests.

REBusiness Online, Feb. 2, 2016--Nelson, John The Mortgage Bankers Association projects originations of commercial and multifamily mortgages will grow to $511 billion in 2016, a 3 percent increase in volume on a year-over-year basis and slightly more than the previous record of $508 billion originated in 2007.

American Banker, Feb. 2, 2016--Parson, Richard J. Kudos to John Kanas and BankUnited for throwing in the towel and ceasing to originate retail mortgages. The savvy decision recognizes the dilemma retail mortgage lending creates for most bank CEOs: originating and holding these loans pumps up earnings but not shareholder value.

Bloomberg, Feb. 2, 2016--Hamilton, Jesse Morgan Stanley will pay $63 million to settle a series of government lawsuits claiming the bank misrepresented securities it sold to banks that later failed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement Tuesday.

Reuters, Feb. 2, 2016--Aubin, Dena Homeowners accusing Wells Fargo Bank of reneging on promises to modify mortgages can sue as a class over allegations that the biggest U.S. mortgage lender violated California state law, a federal judge in San Francisco has ruled. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria at the same time rejected class status for homeowners' nationwide breach of contract claims, saying too many individual circumstances were involved for them to sue as a group.

National Mortgage News, Feb. 2, 2016--Bisbey, Allison Lenders argue that the GSEs would be better off buying more loans that are already insured, rather than transferring credit risk after holding them for a time. But Freddie Mac's Kevin Palmer says certainty of reimbursement is more important than the timing of risk transfers.

Bloomberg, Feb. 2, 2016--Miller, Rich As interest rates turn negative around the world, the Federal Reserve is asking banks to consider the possibility of the same happening in the U.S.

Reuters, Feb. 2, 2016--Lange, Jason The Federal Reserve should push ahead with interest rate hikes because of the strong fundamentals of the U.S. economy, a Fed policymaker said on Tuesday, downplaying the impact of financial market volatility.

Multi-Housing News, Feb. 2, 2016--Stribling, Dees Indications suggest that multifamily debt levels this year will match 2015 levels. Overall, the Mortgage Bankers Association forecasts $225 billion in originations in 2016, roughly the same as in 2015. Also, the conduit market, while experiencing pricing volatility, isn't expected to see any retraction in the new year.

Wall Street Journal, Feb. 2, 2016--Light, Joe Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Tuesday they have come to terms with lenders on how to resolve mortgage disputes, capping an effort that regulators hope will make loans cheaper and easier to get for some risky borrowers.

Builder Magazine, Feb. 2. 2016 A team at Urban Institute used data to calculate how many more mortgages there would be if not for tight credit standards. This team, which already calculated 4 million were missing between 2009 and 2013, found another 1.2 million missing in 2014.

ORLANDO--The Mortgage Bankers Association's Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo concludes today here at the Hyatt Regency Orlando.