The Lede

National Mortgage News, Jan. 24, 2019--Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)While the London interbank offered rate won't go dark until 2021, the commercial real estate finance industry should start preparing for the transition now, says the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Washington Post, Jan. 24, 2019--Kathy OrtonAccording to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average hasn't budged for three weeks. It has remained at 4.45 percent with an average 0.4 point. A year ago, it was 4.15 percent. (MBA mention)

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 24, 2019--Andrew Ackerman (subscription)Lawmakers from both parties plan to take a fresh crack at getting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two companies that underpin nearly half of U.S. mortgages, out of government control.

American Banker, Jan. 24, 2019--John Heltman (subscription)When Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter last week to some of the largest banks asking for details about what they were doing to aid customers affected by the government shutdown, many firms had to confront an all-too-familiar public relations dynamic: playing defense. Banks had already been quick to point out that many of them were taking action to help their customers--a point that Warren herself acknowledged.

Orange County Register, Jan. 24, 2019--Jeff LazersonLast week, the Internal Revenue Service clarified section 199A of the 2017 Trump tax overhaul that offers a plethora of taxpayer benefits to landlords. (MBA mention)

MarketWatch, Jan. 24, 2019--Andrea RiquierRates for home loans were unchanged in line with a stagnating bond market, but big questions remain about the health of the housing market.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 24, 2019--Andrew Ackerman, Emily Glazer (subscription)The chief executives of the six largest U.S. banks are poised to testify together before House lawmakers in Congress this spring, sources said, for the first time since shortly after the financial crisis.

National Mortgage Professional, Jan. 24, 2019--Robert J. ClennanAs mortgage professionals embrace technology, technology is replacing mortgage professionals. The industry's greatest opportunity mirrors its greatest challenge: The need to balance the insatiable appetite to invest in more technology with the need to invest in our employees.

Tech Crunch, Jan. 24, 2019--Zack WhittakerA reporter found the second trove of data in a separate exposed Amazon S3 storage server, which too was not protected with a password. Anyone who went to an easy-to-guess web address in their web browser could have accessed the storage server to see--and download--the files stored inside.