The Lede

NPR, Aug. 27, 2018--Cory TurnerIn a scathing resignation letter, Seth Frotman, who until now was the Student Loan Ombudsman at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, says current leadership "has turned its back on young people and their financial futures." The letter was addressed to Mick Mulvaney, the bureau's acting director.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 27, 2018--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)The mortgage industry is a ripe target for business email compromise schemes because of the increased presence of publicly available data about real estate listings and sales.

RESPA News, Aug. 27, 2018The Fair Housing Act standard on disparate impact is dated and should be amended, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association and eight other trade groups.

Wall Street Journal, Aug. 27, 2018--Esther Fung (subscription)CBRE Global Investors has purchased a 49% stake in three malls in a deal that values them at more than $1 billion and shows that investors still have an appetite for top-tier retail property.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 27, 2018--Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)Racial and ethnic discrimination in mortgage lending may be misrepresented by flawed denial metrics that suggest a larger gap between white and black and Hispanic denial rates than what actually exists, according to the Urban Institute.

American Banker, Aug. 27, 2018--Hannah Long (subscription)The Congressional Budget Office has found that restructuring the mortgage market would save the government tens of billions of dollars, but could also increase the cost of housing, presenting yet another hurdle for lawmakers looking to reform mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Forbes, Aug. 27, 2018--Trefis TeamThe U.S. mortgage industry witnessed a recovery in activity levels over the second quarter, as an upbeat economic outlook helped total mortgage originations improve from just $346 billion in Q1 2018 to $447 billion in Q2 2018. (MBA mention)