The Lede

The Mortgage Reports, Jan. 14, 2019--Aly J. YaleAccording to the Mortgage Bankers Association, refinance application volume was up 35 percent at the start of the year. According to Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting at MBA, homeowners with larger loan sizes are showing the most interest in refinancing.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 14, 2019 (subscription)The U.S. Supreme Court turned away a broad challenge to the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency that Republicans say has stifled economic growth through over-regulation.

HousingWire, Jan. 14, 2019--Ben LanePlaid announced it acquired Quovo, reportedly for $200 million, a company that also connects applications to customers' accounts, although Quovo's business is focused more on investment and brokerage accounts.

Reuters, Jan. 14, 2019--Imani Moise, Siddharth CavaleCitigroup Inc said it would earn $2 billion more in revenue from its lending activities this year than in 2018 as it reported better than expected fourth-quarter earnings.

American Banker, Jan. 14, 2019--John Heltman (subscription)The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision unveiled a revised capital standard Monday for what banks should set aside for market risk. The market risk recommendations are among the most important aspects of the Basel III capital accords that remain unfinished.

Bloomberg, Jan. 15, 2019--Noah Buhayar, Caleb Melby"Opportunity Zone" fever spreads as debate over tax break deepens.

Reuters, Jan. 14, 2019--Siddarth CavaleJPMorgan Chase & Co on Tuesday reported a 67 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit from a year ago, when it took a $2.4 billion charge due to an overhaul of the U.S. tax code.

The Mortgage Leader, Jan. 14, 2019Reggora, an appraisal platform for appraisers and lenders, has secured $3 million in seed funding to help it expand across the U.S. and enhance its platform. The funding round was led by Spark Capital with participation from Boston Seed Capital, an early investor in the company.