The Lede

Scotsman Guide, Dec. 21, 2018--Victor WhitmanLobbyists for major housing and banking trade groups on Friday spoke in favor of a bipartisan House proposal that would wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and create a housing-finance system with multiple private guarantors and a greatly expanded role for Ginnie Mae. MBA President Robert Broeksmit called it "a strong step forward."

National Mortgage News, Dec. 21, 2018--Austin Kilgore, Glenn McCullom (free article)As the mortgage industry confronts tight margins, shifting market share and regulatory uncertainty, a new leader, Bob Broeksmit, emerges at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

National Mortgage Professional, Dec. 21, 2018--Phil HallU.S. households spent a record amount on rent in 2018, according to a new data analysis from Zillow company HotPads.

American Banker, Dec. 21 2018--Rachel Witkowski (subscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued guidance late Friday that will shield some mortgage data from the public that lenders are required to report.

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 23, 2018--Laura Kusisto (subscription)A long rally in the housing market stumbled in 2018 and looks poised to slow further, another headwind for a U.S. economic expansion already contending with choppy financial markets and global trade tensions.

National Mortgage News, Dec. 21, 2018--Brad Finkelstein, Austin Kilgore (subscription)CoreLogic is exiting its loan origination software and default management operations over the next 24 months and instead accelerated plans to transform its appraisal management company unit.

Bloomberg, Dec. 23, 2018--Mark NiquetteWhite House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney on Sunday echoed the comments of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that Donald Trump doesn't think the U.S. president has the authority to fire the head of the Federal Reserve.

UExpress, Dec. 21, 2018--Lew SichelmanNearly 26 percent of all home owners were equity rich in this year's third quarter, but a floundering 9 percent were seriously underwater.

MBA Education presents its popular School of Mortgage Banking Course I Feb. 12-15 at MBA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has begun enrollment for its 2019 Servicing Operations Study and Forum (covering 2018 data). Sign-up deadline is Jan. 15, 2019.