The Lede

The Hill, Dec. 20, 2017--Jordain CarneyThe Senate approved the Republican tax-cut bill in a 51-48 vote on Wednesday morning, inching closer to finishing off the first major legislative victory of President Trump's tenure.

American Banker, Dec. 19, 2017--Brian Collins, Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Top officials at the Internal Revenue Service met with mortgage industry groups this week to discuss possible fixes to the agency's verification system, which lenders rely on to process mortgage loans. The IRS made an update to the system on Dec. 8 and "processing delays began almost immediately," according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, which detailed the issue in an alert to members.

National Mortgage News, Dec. 19, 2017--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Residential and commercial property tax delinquencies are slightly higher in the Northeast and South than in the Midwest and West, but improving economic conditions are keeping the national delinquency rate in check, according to a report by Lereta.

HousingWire, Dec. 19, 2017--Jacob GaffneyCritics of the reform package say the burden will be too great to put the plan in place by the April deadline, but "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has suggested that the IRS will be ready to process the new tax forms in February and, in any case, the cuts will be back-dated to 1st January," said Andrew Hunter, U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

Mortgage Daily, Dec. 19, 2017Fannie Mae has made changes to its policies on frozen credit reports, premium pricing and Texas home-equity loans.

Charlotte Observer, Dec. 19, 2017--Rick RothackerWells Fargo & Co. said Monday that Charlotte, North Carolina-based executive Mary Mack will become its new head of consumer lending, adding to her duties as head of community banking.

HousingWire, Dec. 20, 2017--Jacob GaffneyMortgage Lending Services will change its name to TruStone Home Mortgage, beginning in the new year. This new name will better reflect its relationship to parent company, TruStone Financial Federal Credit Union.

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 19, 2017--Andrew Ackerman (subscription)Regulators would have more discretion to decide which banks to target for stricter oversight under bipartisan legislation that House lawmakers approved Tuesday, the latest front in a broad push to ease postcrisis regulations.

National Mortgage News, Dec. 19, 2017--Kate Berry (subscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday withdrew a plan to conduct a web survey for its debt collection proposal while acting Director Mick Mulvaney reviews the rulemaking.

HousingWire, Dec. 19, 2017--Kelsey RamirezAffordable housing remains a major concern going into 2018 as home prices rise and housing inventory decreases, says Bank of America's Maria Barry.

Mortgage Daily, Dec. 19, 2017The Composite Consumer Credit Default Index indicated that delinquency of at least 90 days on automobile loans, bank cards and mortgages fell to 0.89 percent in November.