American Banker, Feb. 11, 2019–John Heltman (subscription)Regulators have a duty to make sure policies are suited to the particular profile of community banks, Federal Reserve Board Gov. Michelle Bowman said in her first public speech since being confirmed to the Fed board.
Category: Top National News
Ditech Return to Bankruptcy to Restructure Its Debt
National Mortgage News, Feb. 11, 2010–Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Ditech Holding Corp. is refiling for bankruptcy almost a year after emerging from it in order to facilitate a restructuring agreement with lenders holding more than 75% of its term loans.
California Homeowners Face Higher Prices for a Scarce Commodity: Wildfire Insurance
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 10, 2019–Nicole Friedman (subscription)Californians who want to insure their homes against the next wildfire are paying a price for two years of record-breaking blazes. Home-insurance companies in the Golden State are canceling some policies, refusing to sell new ones in certain areas and applying for rate increases as they look to cut back on wildfire risk.
Bankruptcy Judge Says He Will Approve Lampert Purchase of Sears
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 7, 2019–Lillian Rizzo (subscription)A bankruptcy judge said Thursday he would approve Edward Lampert’s bid to purchase Sears Holdings Corp., a decision that will keep the doors open at more than 400 stores and see 45,000 people keep their jobs.
PHH Mortgage Settles Suit Alleging Improper Foreclosures Against Military Personnel
Cherry Hill Courier Post (N.J.), Feb. 6, 2019–Jim WalshPHH Mortgage Corp. will pay $750,000 to settle claims it improperly foreclosed on the homes of six members of the armed services, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
Senate Panel to Consider Nomination of Fannie, Freddie Overseer
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 5, 2019–Andrew Ackerman (subscription)Senate lawmakers are expected as early as next week to consider the nomination of Mark Calabria, a critic of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to the post responsible for overseeing the housing-finance companies.
Fed to Include High Unemployment in 2019 Stress Test Scenario
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 5, 2019–Andrew Ackerman, Lalita Clozel (subscription)The Federal Reserve on Tuesday said that its stress test for big banks will imagine a rapid increase in unemployment, as it announced the details of the hypothetical scenario that banks must survive to pass the latest round of the exams.
Fed Exempts Most Regional Banks from Stress Testing in 2019
American Banker, Feb. 5, 2019–John Heltman (subscription)The Federal Reserve on Tuesday agreed to exempt banks with assets of $100 billion to $250 billion from the 2019 supervisory stress testing cycle, an announcement included as almost an afterthought in a suite of other changes unveiled to provide greater transparency to its stress testing regime.
CMBS Delinquency Falls to a New Post-Crisis Low
National Mortgage Professional, Feb. 5, 2019–Phil HallThe delinquency rate for U.S. commercial real estate loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities began 2019 by continuing its 2018 downward spiral, according to data from Trepp LLC.
GSE Reform, CFPB Underwriting Rule are on Collision Course
American Banker, Feb. 4, 2019–Kate Berry (subscription)The White House and Senate Banking Committee are pursuing parallel tracks to end the GSEs’ federal conservatorships. Any resulting plan must deal with whether GSE-backed mortgages are still exempt from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Qualified Mortgage rule. “Not doing something to extend the patch would be highly disruptive,” said Bob Broeksmit, the president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association.