The Lede

National Mortgage News, June 14, 2016--Bisbey, Allison There's been plenty of speculation about insurance companies crowding out commercial mortgage bond investors this year. Volatility in capital markets in the first quarter, combined with new and impending regulations, have made it difficult for firms that underwrite loans for sale to securitization conduits to compete with so-called portfolio lenders.

National Mortgage News, June 14, 2016--Berry, Kate Mortgage lenders, debt collectors and credit card companies have borne the brunt of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's public enforcement actions over the past four years, yet banks have paid the most in penalties and restitution, according to a new study.

MarketWatch, June 15, 2016--Munnell, Alicia H. It does seem, at long last, that reverse mortgages are entering mainstream consciousness. And it may be happening just in time to help millions of Americans who will retire with grossly inadequate 401(k) balances to have a decent standard of living when they stop working.

National Mortgage News, June 14, 2016--Blair, Wesley The author, with Brookline Bank in Boston, argues that condominium priority liens benefit everyone--condominium associations, condominium owners and the lenders financing their mortgages.

Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2016--Brown, Eliot  For six years, real-estate giant Vornado Realty Trust has been lopping off chunks of its empire in a bid to slim down from a sprawling property conglomerate to one more svelte and focused. Now it appears to be nearing a final excision: Washington, D.C.

Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2016--Forelle, Charles   The Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank and several smaller European authorities have ventured into the once-uncharted territory of negative interest rates. But what are negative rates and how do they come about? 

Reuters, June 14, 2016--Mutikani, Lucia U.S. business inventories barely rose in April as sales recorded their biggest increase in more than two years, pointing to a slow pace of inventory accumulation that could weigh on economic growth in the second quarter.

Reuters, June 14, 2016--Mutikani, Lucia U.S. retail sales rose strongly in May as Americans bought automobiles and a range of other goods, even as they paid more for gasoline, suggesting that economic growth was gaining steam despite a sharp slowdown in job creation.

HousingWire, June 14, 2016--Lane, Ben A recent report from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that mortgage credit availability is on the decline, with the Mortgage Credit Availability Index for May showing a decrease for the third straight month. And a new report from Fannie Mae suggests there's no light at the end of the tunnel for those who hope to see credit standards relaxed any time soon.

National Mortgage Professional, June 14, 2016--Hall, Phil The head of the nation's most prominent mortgage banking trade group is warning that proposals to rebuild the capital reserves of the government-sponsored enterprises and then terminating their federal conservatorship would result in unprecedented damage to the housing finance market.

Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2016--Davidson, Kate Federal Reserve officials are widely expected to leave short-term interest rates unchanged at their meeting this week, following a dismal May jobs report.

Bloomberg, June 14, 2016--House, Billy House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday unveiled a regulatory overhaul plan that includes scaling back the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulation law, expanding energy production on federal land and limiting lawsuits against businesses.

Bloomberg, June 14, 2016--Torres, Craig; Perlberg, Heather Buyers with blemished records have all but disappeared from the U.S. housing market.

National Mortgage Professional, June 14, 2016--Hall, Phil T he Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Application Survey data for May determined that mortgage applications for new home purchases dropped six percent from April. MBA estimated that new single-family home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 488,000 units last month. 

National Mortgage News, June 14, 2016--Passy, Jacob Mortgage applications for new home purchases fell in May from the previous month, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Builder Application Survey.

Scotsman Guide, June 14, 2016--Whitman, Victor Three of the four major investors in commercial mortgages increased their debt holdings in the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

National Real Estate Investor, June 14, 2016--Mellen, Chris  Standing at roughly the mid-point of 2016, it seems that what we've gotten so far this year is what the rest of the year will shape up to be.

The Mortgage Bankers Association will host a one-day workshop on November 10 in Phoenix focused on the expanding market in whole loan trading. MBA has issued a Call for Speakers for this workshop with an Aug. 15 deadline.

The Mortgage Bankers Association announces legendary singer/songwriter and multiple Grammy winner James Taylor will take the stage at this year's Concert MBA. The concert takes place during the MBA 103rd Annual Convention & Expo in Boston Oct. 23-26.