The Lede

CNBC, July 18, 2018--Diana OlickMortgage applications dropped 2.5 percent last week, seasonally adjusted, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The weakness was driven entirely by a lack of buyers. Total volume was 12 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2018--Nicole Friedman, Leslie Scism (subscription)Many U.S. homeowners are inadequately insured for natural-catastrophe damage ahead of the height of the Atlantic hurricane season.

American Banker, July 18, 2018--Kate Berry (subscription)Just as Mick Mulvaney fired members of a board that advises the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on consumer issues last month, the agency's acting director was also taking steps to re-form the panel with less than a quarter of its sitting members.

HousingWire, July 18, 2018--Kelsey RamirezTuesday night, the House of Representatives passed a massive piece of bipartisan legislation that some are calling the "cherry on top" of President Donald Trump's Dodd-Frank rollback.

National Mortgage News, July 18, 2018--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Continued favorable loss development trends allowed MGIC Investment Corp. to beat analyst estimates in its second-quarter earnings report.

Mortgage Daily, July 18, 2018Quarterly home-lending volume moved up at U.S. Bancorp and appears to be headed even higher. As corporate income rose, mortgage earnings were lower. The mortgage servicing portfolio contracted.

Mortgage Daily, July 18, 2018The offering includes mortgage-servicing rights on 14,112 single-family loans from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that collectively had an unpaid principal balance of $2.106 billion as of May 31.

National Mortgage News, July 18, 2018--Hannah Long (subscription)The package of eight bills would keep the program running through Nov. 30. It also would include "common sense reforms" to improve flood mapping loss mitigation efforts that have previously passed in the House, according to a press release announcing the bill.

New York Times, July 18, 2018--Alan RappeportAfter years of working as a career bureaucrat and congressional staff member, Kathleen Kraninger will take a seat in the spotlight when senators from both parties examine her credentials to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency beloved by Democrats and excoriated by Republicans since its inception seven years ago.