The Lede

National Mortgage News, Aug. 5, 2019--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Before signing a home purchase contract, the vast majority of potential homebuyers already selected their mortgage lender in order to compete with investors, a Fannie Mae survey found.

HousingWire, Aug. 5, 2019--Jessica GuerinAs more Baby Boomers look not just to downsize but to "rightsize" in their retirement years, the 55+ housing market is humming along nicely, showing solid activity despite the faltering state of the overall market.

Bloomberg, Aug. 5, 2019--Frances SchwartzkopffIn the world's biggest covered-bond market, a Danish bank says it's now ready to sell 10-year mortgage-backed notes at a negative coupon for the first time.

Reuters, Aug. 5, 2019--Pete SchroederThe Federal Reserve announced on Monday it planned to develop its own round-the-clock real-time payments and settlement service, with an expected launch in 2023 or 2024.

Wall Street Journal, Aug. 5, 2019--Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Janet Yellen (subscription)The previous four chairs of the Federal Reserve pen an op-ed saying the Fed must be free of short-term political pressures.

American Banker, Aug. 5, 2019--Kevin McCarthy (subscription)Thinner margins and increased competition could provide a catalyst for more banks to make inroads with the nation's unbanked and underbanked.

Reuters, Aug. 5, 2019--Ann SaphirU.S. banks left loan standards unchanged on commercial and industrial loans to large and mid-sized firms during the second quarter, even as they eased standards on such loans to smaller firms and eased most terms for all size firms, according to a survey of bank officers published on Monday.