MBA Newslinks Archive

“Given that a bank failure is highly unlikely to cause a liquidity event for borrowers and the proposed rule would unnecessarily increase costs for banks and servicers, MBAstrongly recommends that the final FDIC Recordkeeping rule include an exemption for MSAs. This recommendation comports with the existing treatment of MSAs, which hasbeen an effective and well accepted regulatory regime by the banking and servicing industries.”–From an MBA letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on a proposed rule relating to recordkeeping for timely deposit insurance determination.

“Unless and until HUD provides more definitive guidance on the topic, MBA recommends that FHA lenders consult with legal counsel and consider carefully whether and when to participate in down payment assistance programs from HFAs that rely on premium pricing mechanisms. MBA will continue to press HUD/FHA for clarity on this important issue.” –MBA Senior Vice President of Residential Policy and Member Engagement Pete Mills.

“Hotel demand usually falls victim to the natural death of the up-cycle barring catastrophic events. This current expansion phase has lasted more than 27 quarters, so it is likely that a recession is near given that certain past up-cycles were either shorter or slightly longer than this recovery.”
–Jack Corgel, Managing Director with CBRE Hotels Americas Research.

“Allowing any PACE loan amount to hold a senior priority undermines the lender’s (and the government’s) collateral position and disrupts the very nature of secured lending. Moreover, rather than requiring definitive subordination of the PACE loan to the FHA or VA mortgage, the new guidance simply declares that a PACE loan structured as a tax assessment is not a super lien. But this declaration is a form over substance evasion that fails to protect the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund and the VA loan guaranty program.” –From an MBA/trade group letter to HUD and VA over new policy regarding Property Assessed Clean Energy loans.

“While more subprime consumers are receiving loans and their balances are rising, we do not see alarming delinquency levels. Some lenders may be taking on more risk, but it’s important to highlight that they are doing so with their risk thresholds in mind.”–Nidhi Verma, senior director of research and consulting with TransUnion, Chicago.

“When faced with hurdles of high prices and low inventory, first-time homebuyers are renting longer than ever before even if they are qualified to buy.”–Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell.

“Mortgage performance improved again in the second quarter primarily because of the combination of lower unemployment, strong job growth and a continued nationwide housing market recovery.” –Marina Walsh, MBA Vice President of Industry Analysis.

“Month over month declines in applications are part of the normal seasonal pattern this time of year. Mortgage applications to home builders in July increased at the slowest year over year pace to date in 2016 at just 2.4 percent over a year ago.”–MBA Vice President of Research and Economics Lynn Fisher.

“The industry has also been consolidating, with the huge numbers of companies becoming a more manageable group representing depositories, non-banks and third-party providers. As this happens, more focused growth is occurring and that leads to job creation in general staff ranks. Outreach efforts are happening now among many companies seeking new talent from all sectors, including the diverse segments all around the nation. As the industry becomes more attractive to newcomers, significant progress should be seen in workforce diversity results.”–Rick Glass, CEO of Rick Glass Executive Search, Sacramento, Calif.

“Because distressed saturation levels are one of the key indicators of a market’s overall health, low frequencies of these sales in the market could be a sign of a healthy market.”–Alex Villacorta, vice president of research and analytics with Clear Capital, Reno, Nev.