The Lede

CNBC, Aug. 7, 2019--Diana OlickTotal mortgage application volume rose 5.3% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. Volume was 46.5% higher than a year ago, when rates were significantly higher.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 7, 2019--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Black Knight's second-quarter earnings dropped 20% from the previous year as it took a hit from its indirect investment in Dun & Bradstreet, offsetting a 7% increase in revenue.

HousingWire, Aug. 7, 2019--Kathleen HowleyIn a 17-page paper published on Monday, "GSE Reform: None or Mostly Done?", Former Freddie Mac CEO Donald Layton reveals a conversation he had a few months ago in a meeting with an unnamed senior official in the U.S. Treasury who told him: "GSE reform has already mostly happened."

Reuters, Aug. 7, 2019--Richard LeongSome $8.4 trillion in mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae have been rocked by the swift decline in bond yields on worries that a wave of mortgage refinancing would erode the value of these bonds. (MBA mention)

National Mortgage News, Aug. 7, 2019--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Falling rates: The phrase is music to a mortgage originator's ears. But is it possible, even when it comes to the volume stimulating effects that a favorable rate environment brings, for there to eventually be too much of a good thing?

Bloomberg, Aug. 7, 2019--Laruen Coleman-Lochner, Eliza Ronalds-HannonMall landlords accustomed to offering rent reductions to ailing retailers are mulling a new strategy to forestall the industry's collapse: positioning themselves as lenders to tenants struggling to stay afloat.

MBA Education presents its popular School of Mortgage Banking Course I this summer and fall.