The Mortgage Bankers Association weighed in to oppose a proposed New York tax and recording requirement for mezzanine debt and preferred equity and to support like-kind exchanges.

Gantry, San Francisco, secured $25.6 million in financing for two Seattle office assets.

Bridge lending remains an active piece of the commercial real estate finance pie heading into the anticipated economic recovery in the second half of 2021. These products and the large number of institutions offering them to sponsors are defining features of an economy in transition.

MISMO, the industry’s standards organization, developed iLAD through close collaboration across the industry, including with lenders, vendors, IT companies and GSEs. The MISMO Loan Application Data Exchange (LADE) Development Work Group is working to ensure these iLAD specifications will continue to evolve to meet industry needs.

While there is a tremendous benefit to adding Ginnie Mae specified (spec) pools as part of a diversified execution strategy, lenders cannot continue to operate as if it’s business as usual when faced with the current volatility in the mortgage-backed securities market. Instead, speed must become of the essence, and lenders need to move as quickly as possible while monitoring the MBS market closely to continue effectively utilizing this strategy and maximize their secondary profitability.

Community banks need to focus on partnerships with fintechs to deliver exceptional experiences and solve some of their most fragmented challenges. Fragmentation is expensive and riddled with risk and inefficiencies—and the lending and banking industries are full of fragmentation.

Unlike the NCAA basketball tournament, March Madness in the mortgage industry began very early in March and will last beyond the NCAA Championship game on April 5. By adjusting their application best practices and keeping a keen eye out for upsets for the next few months, lenders can stop upsets before they happen and avoid a busted bracket.

With the benchmark 30-year fixed rate beginning to creep higher, however, we may start to face a new reality. That’s why smart originators are already thinking about how to generate business when the refi dust settles. And many are setting their sights on the real estate investor channel, because the opportunities for business growth are incredible.