The Lede

National Mortgage News, Sept. 28, 2018--Neil Haggerty (subscription)The protracted and hyperpartisan confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has complicated the Senate's efforts to advance financial regulatory nominees before the midterm elections. Trump administration picks for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, National Credit Union Administration and Ginnie Mae are still in limbo.

HousingWire, Sept. 28, 2018--Ben LaneOcwen Financial's $360 million acquisition of PHH Corp. is set to close within the next two weeks after the companies received approvals from all relevant regulatory agencies and governmental entities, the companies announced Friday morning.

American Banker, Sept. 28, 2018--Neil Haggerty (subscription)Nearly 30 House Republicans are calling on the Federal Reserve Board to use new authority to relieve all banks with less than $250 billion of assets from enhanced supervision that was established after the crisis.

Mortgage Daily, Oct. 1, 2018Ongoing losses in the FHA reverse mortgage program have led to a new policy that will require a second appraisal on some transactions.

NPR, Sept. 28, 2018--Stacey Vanek Smith; Cardiff GarciaEver since the end of the financial crisis, rents have been rising all across America. But a recent report from Zillow could signal a turning point in the housing recovery.

Dallas Morning News, Oct. 1, 2018--Karen Robinson-JacobsXome Realty Services, a real estate auction service that's part of the company that operates mortgage servicer Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. is planning to lay off 72 employees permanently beginning days before Thanksgiving.

New York Times, Sept. 29, 2018--Ben CasselmanThe specifics vary, but economists, real estate agents and home builders say the core issue is the same: Home buyers are reaching a breaking point after years of breakneck price increases that far exceeded income gains.

American Banker, Sept. 30, 2018--Kate Berry, Rachel Witkowski (subscription)Kirsten Donoghue, the CFPB's assistant director of enforcement, became the second senior leader at the agency to question the fitness of Eric Blankenstein, her boss as policy director of supervision, enforcement and fair lending, after his past writings were uncovered that used a racial slur for African Americans and suggested most hate crimes were "hoaxes."

National Mortgage News, Sept, 28, 2018--Brad Finkelstein, Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Bryan R. Ziegenfuse, who previously was a vice president of servicing at Ocwen, agreed to pay $128,130 plus interest, double the profits he made from the three transactions. He did not admit or deny wrongdoing.

UExpress, Sept. 28, 2018--Lew SichelmanAccording to new research from the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, if Mom and Dad are homeowners instead of renters, the likelihood of their children becoming owners increases 8.4 percentage points.

MBA Education presents Part 1 of its series on Mortgage Accounting, Drilling into Mortgage Accounting on Wednesday, Oct. 3 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET.

MBA Education offers an informative two-part webinar series, Roadmap for Moving from Paper to Digital, on Tuesday, Oct. 2 and Thursday, Oct. 4.