Wall Street Journal, Aug. 1, 2019–Ben Eisen (subscription)The Federal Housing Administration, which insures loans for mostly first-time buyers, plans to announce Thursday it will limit cash-out refinancings in its program. Borrowers will be able to pull cash out only when the new loan amounts to 80% of the value of the home or less, down from 85%.
Category: Top National News
CMBS Issuance Focuses on ‘Bulletproof’ Retail Loans
National Real Estate Investor, July 31, 2019–Beth Mattson-TeigInvestors are getting increasingly concerned about the outlook for retail-backed commercial mortgage-backed securities 2.0 loans.
OneWest Bank to Cough Up Cash Over Racial Bias Allegations During Mnuchin’s Reign
HousingWire, July 30, 2019–Jessica GuerinOneWest Bank is finally able to put two-year-old allegations of housing discrimination to rest as HUD approved a settlement Monday that will see the bank hand over a chunk of change to end the ordeal.
America’s Housing Affordability Crisis Spreads to the Heartland
Bloomberg, July 30, 2019–Prashant Gopal, Reade Pickert, Noah BuhayarLow mortgage rates and thriving employment should be the recipe for a strong housing market. Instead, they’re deepening America’s affordability crisis.
A GSE Plan Before the Election Has Risks–But So Does Doing Nothing
National Mortgage News, July 29, 2019–Hannah Lang (subscription)A consensus is building among some mortgage industry observers that the election makes it unlikely the administration will try to release Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship anytime soon. Yet others argue, “If not now, when?”
Ginnie Mae Reveals Plans to Stress-Test Non-Bankers
HousingWire, July 29, 2019–Jessica GuerinThe agency’s proposed test includes the evaluation of the performance of an issuer’s balance sheet, income and cashflow under adverse conditions over the course of eight quarters.
Former CFPB Official ‘May Have Abused His Authority:’ Inspector General
American Banker, July 29, 2019–Kate Berry (subscription)Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on Monday called for the ouster of Eric Blankenstein, now a senior counsel at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. They were responding to a CFPB inspector general report that he “may have abused his authority” during the fallout last year over revelations he used a racial slur in an incendiary blog 14 years ago.
Trump’s Ambitious Fannie, Freddie Overhaul Faces Hurdles
Reuters, July 16, 2019–Pete Schroeder”You’re trying to reform what is the financing behind one-sixth of the economy,” said Pete Mills, senior vice president at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “You’ve got to do it in a way that doesn’t disrupt the marketplace, and that’s the challenge.”
6 Questions on the CFPB Plan to End Fannie and Freddie’s ‘Patch’
American Banker, July 28, 2019–Kate Berry (free article)”The goal here is to get a version of the patch [so that] QM covers a significant percentage of the borrowers that are currently served, but applies to the market entirely,” said Pete Mills, the senior vice president of residential policy at the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Calabria on the QM Patch: Fannie, Freddie Should Be Held to Same Standards as Everyone Else
HousingWire, July 26, 2019–Kelsey RamirezFederal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria told HousingWire this week that he supports the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s move to kill the Qualified Mortgage patch.