The Lede

NPR, June 3, 2016--Sullivan, Laura The Federal Emergency Management Agency is making sweeping reforms to the nation's flood insurance program in the wake of a series of critical reports, but lawmakers say this isn't enough when private insurance companies are profiting millions of dollars from a program that is already $23 billion in debt.

National Mortgage News, June 3, 2016--Collins, Brian MFA Financial has carved out an impressive niche for itself by buying reperforming and nonperforming residential mortgages and securities. 

Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2016--Koren, James Rufus In  countless cases against banks and other lenders over the last few years, investors and federal regulators have made basically the same argument: that lenders committed fraud by hiding the flaws of risky mortgage loans and passing them off to investors and the government as safe, solid ones. But how about a case against a lender that did the opposite, taking good loans and making them look bad?

Los Angeles Times, June 5, 2016--Koren, James Rufus Most big banks have pulled back from offering FHA loans after dealing with lawsuits and billion-dollar settlements connected with underwriting problems. Wells Fargo had been the exception, but with its new loan program, called Your First Mortgage, the San Francisco bank could soon be making fewer FHA loans.

Bloomberg, June 3, 2016--Clark, Patrick Between April 2015 and April 2016, the pace of rent increases slowed in at least 90 percent of luxury ZIP codes1 in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, according to data compiled by Zillow. But in each of those metropolitan areas, rent growth is less likely to be slowing down in cheaper parts of town. 

National Mortgage News, June 3, 2016--Finkelstein, Brad; Passy, Jacob This mortgage insurance market ain't big enough for all seven of us. So says Patrick Sinks, CEO of MGIC Investment Corp., which has seen its market share chipped away by smaller, newer underwriters created after the housing crisis.

National Mortgage News, June 3, 2016--Passy, Jacob The bill, titled the New York State Abandoned Property Relief Act of 2016, passed on a 116-22 vote May 24. "Lenders doing business in the state of New York should be very concerned about this legislation," said Zahras Jafri, president of the Empire State Mortgage Bankers Association.

Bergen Record (N.J.), June 5, 2016--Lynn, Kathleen; Sheingold, David New Jersey was No. 1 in the nation in the number of foreclosure actions started in the first quarter of this year, the Mortgage Bankers Association recently reported. About 11.5 percent of New Jersey mortgages were either late on payments or in foreclosure in the first quarter, compared with 6.5 percent nationwide.

Philadelphia Inquirer, June 5, 2016--Heavens, Alan J. "Demand for rental housing has greatly outstripped supply, rapidly pushing vacancies down and rents up even as incomes fell," said Lynn Fisher, vice president for research and economics with the Mortgage Bankers Association. "The supply is still trying to catch up with the demand."

24/7 Wall Street, June 3, 2016--Ausick, Paul Data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association show a recent annual low of 39.8% of refinancings in 2014, rising to 46% in 2015. Refinancing reached an annual peak of 71.2% in 2012, when the annual average mortgage loan rate was 3.66%, according to data from Freddie Mac.

MarketWatch, June 3, 2016--Riquier, Andrea Factory orders rose 1.9% in April, the second strong month in a row, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Associated Press, June 3, 2016--Wiseman, Paul The Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its services index fell to 52.9 last month from April's 55.7. It was the lowest reading since February 2014. Anything above 50 signals growth.

Bloomberg, June 3, 2016--Kawa, Luke One of the few elements of May's disappointing jobs report that did manage to meet economists' expectations was wage growth.

HousingWire, June 3, 2016--Lane, Ben In a letter sent this week to Mel Watt, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Jack Lew, the secretary of the Department of the Treasury, a group of 32 Democratic members of the House of Representatives say that the GSEs dwindling capital base, which is set to completely expire in 2018, has "serious consequences" for "underserved markets."

Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2016--Borak, Donna; Ackerman, Andrew House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, has crafted a plan to repeal key provisions of postcrisis regulations enacted under President Barack Obama, according to a draft summary of the bill.

UExpress, June 3, 2016--Sichelman, Lew Fannie Mae will push the "start" button on an automated underwriting program that doesn't require credit scores. This move will make it easier for millions of so-called "thin file" people to qualify for a home loan. But just a few days later, FHA will begin counting payments on student loans as part of a borrower's debt load--effectively knocking many buyers out of the running for government financing.

National Mortgage News, June 3, 2016--Collins, Brian Increased loan production during the spring home buying season had nonbank mortgage lenders stepping up their hiring in April.

For more than 60 years, industry professionals have looked to the Mortgage Bankers Association's School of Mortgage Banking to give them a solid foundation of industry knowledge.