The Lede
Top National News
Mortgage Rates Rise Amid Market Speculation Over Interest Rates
Washington Post, June 2, 2016--Haynes, Dion
Mortgage rates moved up again this week, according to data released Thursday, reacting to recent speculation in the market that a Federal Reserve-imposed interest rate increase could be imminent.
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Gov. Brown’s Housing Plan Could Wipe Away Development Rules in Los Angeles and San Francisco
Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2016--Dillon, Liam
A new plan from Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown would force local governments to approve any urban housing development provided the project matches the underlying zoning and a certain percentage of homes are set aside for the poor, adding some certainty to processes that developers describe as overly complicated.
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Credit Tightens as Lenders Cut Programs in High-Cost Markets: MBA
National Mortgage News, June 2, 2016--Passy, Jacob
Mortgage credit availability tightened for the third consecutive month in May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
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Amid Caution, Bank Lending Remains Robust
Commercial Property Executive, June 2, 2016--Thangavelu, Poonkulali
The Mortgage Bankers Association projects mortgage lending from all sources will increase 3 percent to a record $511 billion this year. "What we are seeing so far in 2016 from commercial banks is a continuation of what we saw in 2015," said MBA Vice President of Commercial and Multifamily Research Jamie Woodwell.
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FDIC Wins $190M Settlement for Toxic Countrywide Mortgage Bonds
HousingWire, June 2, 2016--Lane, Ben
The ghosts of Countrywide past just struck again, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced Thursday that eight major financial institutions will pay $190 million total to settle a series of lawsuits tied to toxic Countrywide mortgage bonds that subsequently led to the failure of five banks during the housing crisis.
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Fed Governors Signal Bigger Bank Capital Requirements Looming
Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2016--Tracy, Ryan
Federal Reserve officials strongly signaled they will toughen big-bank capital requirements even more than they have since the 2008 crisis, a move that will add to the pressure on the largest U.S. banks to consider shrinking.
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U.S. Houses Are Still Getting Bigger
Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2016--Sparshott, Jeffrey
The median size of a new single-family house was 2,467 square feet last year, the biggest on record, according to Census Bureau data out this week.
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HUD Unveils New Housing Counseling Advisory Committee
National Mortgage News, June 2, 2016--Collins, Brian
HUD created a new Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee that will explore ways to make counseling more accessible for new homebuyers and troubled homeowners.
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Tightening U.S. Labor Market Boosts Economic Outlook
Reuters, June 2, 2016--Mutikani, Lucia
U.S. private employers increased hiring in May and new applications for jobless benefits fell last week, further boosting the economic outlook for the second quarter.
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Flagstar Is in the Market to Buy a Mortgage Lender
National Mortgage News, June 2, 2016--Finkelstein, Brad
Flagstar Bancorp is interested in buying a small-to-midsized independent nonbank mortgage banker as part of a strategy to boost its retail origination volume.
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Banks Shouldn’t Forget Main Street
Wall Street Journal, June 2, 2016--Brown, Sherrod
The Democratic senator and ranking member of the Senate banking committee says efforts must continue to make sure banks work for communities.
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