National Mortgage News, Jan. 24, 2019–Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)While the London interbank offered rate won’t go dark until 2021, the commercial real estate finance industry should start preparing for the transition now, says the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Category: Top National News
Lawmakers Promise Fresh Push to Overhaul Housing Finance
Wall Street Journal, Jan. 24, 2019–Andrew Ackerman (subscription)Lawmakers from both parties plan to take a fresh crack at getting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two companies that underpin nearly half of U.S. mortgages, out of government control.
Banks Didn’t Cause the Shutdown–Why are they on the Defensive?
American Banker, Jan. 24, 2019–John Heltman (subscription)When Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter last week to some of the largest banks asking for details about what they were doing to aid customers affected by the government shutdown, many firms had to confront an all-too-familiar public relations dynamic: playing defense. Banks had already been quick to point out that many of them were taking action to help their customers–a point that Warren herself acknowledged.
Massive Mortgage and Loan Data Leak Gets Worse as Original Documents Also Exposed
Tech Crunch, Jan. 24, 2019–Zack WhittakerA reporter found the second trove of data in a separate exposed Amazon S3 storage server, which too was not protected with a password. Anyone who went to an easy-to-guess web address in their web browser could have accessed the storage server to see–and download–the files stored inside.
MBA Asks VA to Delay Cash-Out Refi Rule Enforcement
National Mortgage Professional, Jan. 25, 2019–Phil Halln a letter to the VA, MBA President and CEO Robert Broeksmit cited a “significant operational challenge” in the new VA disclosures that would impose required borrower disclosures which are not readily available to MBA member lenders offering such refinance loans.
Top Democrats Urge FHFA’s Otting to Clarify Plans for GSEs
American Banker, Jan. 25, 2019–Neil Haggerty (subscription)Two leading congressional Democrats called on the acting Federal Housing Finance Agency chief to detail his plans for the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac following reports he may shake up the agency’s approach to the two mortgage giants.
CECL Talks Could Get Heated as Detractors Weigh In
American Banker, Jan. 25, 2019–John Reosti (subscription)Members of the Financial Accounting Standards Board could be in for an earful Monday. FASB will hold a highly anticipated roundtable at its Norwalk, Conn., headquarters to discuss the Current Expected Credit Loss accounting standard.
What is Otting’s Plan for GSE Reform? It’s Complicated
National Mortgage News, Jan. 28, 2019–Hannah Long (free content)Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Joseph Otting promised the White House is set to announce an administrative plan for changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But the mechanics of such a plan as well as the timeline have left mortgage industry insiders scratching their heads.
Plenty of Risk to Go Around
Mortgage Media, Jan. 18, 2019Among the more significant developments in the mortgage industry has been the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s development in 2012 and thereafter of a credit risk transfer program for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.It’s a strong and solid move, notes Andrew Rippert, chief executive officer of the Global Mortgage Group at Arch Capital Group Ltd., involved in insurance, reinsurance and mortgage insurance around the globe.
Fannie-Freddie Soar on FHFA Chief’s Convervatorship Comment
Naional Mortgage News, Jan. 18, 2019 (subscription)Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shares soared Friday amid fresh reports that the Trump administration is working on proposal that would recommend freeing the mortgage-finance giants from government control.