The Lede

Mortgage Daily, Aug. 6, 2018On Monday, the Seattle-based organization announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Mortgage Lenders of America LLC.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 6. 2018--Hannah Long (subscription)"My sense right now is that the industry is really at a tipping point in terms of adoption of digital mortgage or e-mortgage technologies," said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. "The technology is there, the industry desire is there, but there are some regulatory hurdles and the Treasury report identified some of them."

Bloomberg, Aug. 6, 2018--Julie Verhage, Katherine ChiglinskyThe San Francisco-based company is launching Blend Insurance Agency. Much like its mortgage platform, the firm will leverage partnerships with large insurers to scale its business by pairing the offerings. One of those initial partners will be MetLife Inc., a U.S. insurer with more than $700 billion in assets.

Wall Street Journal, Aug. 6, 2017--Ryan Tracy (subscription)Jelena McWilliams signals openness to revamping capital-requirement rules on investing in low-income areas.

NPR, Aug. 6, 2018--Kirk Sigler Ten years after the housing collapse during the Great Recession, a new and different housing crisis has emerged. Home values have rebounded, but people who want to buy a new home are often priced out of the market. There are too few homes and too many potential buyers.

Mortgage Daily, Aug. 6. 2018A severe shortage of real estate appraisers has North Dakota officials making a request to waive appraisal reports, at least temporarily, on some residential loans. Banking regulators see the move as necessary.

Wall Street Journal, Aug. 7, 2018--Laura Kusisto (subscription)The initiative acts similar to rent control-which has been gaining traction in many parts of the country-by keeping units in private hands and controlling the rate of rent increases. But it comes with less political baggage because it is voluntary.

HousingWire, Aug. 6, 2018--Kelsey RamirezMany Americans, about 40%, say buying a new home is the most stressful event in modern life, according to a survey of 2,000 Americans by Homes.com. Another 44% said they felt nervous throughout the home-buying process.

American Banker, Aug. 6, 2018--Kate Berry (subscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is moving quickly on a fintech sandbox to remove the regulatory cloud from new firms, but the effort is about more than just fostering innovation.