Category: Top National News

American Banker, Oct. 22, 2018–Hannah Lang (subscription)The industry has eagerly awaited revisions to the Volcker Rule, but so far regulators’ proposal to simplify the compliance process is getting panned both by critics of the proprietary trading ban and by its most ardent supporters. (MBA mention)

Mortgage Daily, Oct. 22, 2018For the first time since it began reporting mortgage servicing data six years ago, Quicken Loans Inc. has pushed the servicing portfolio past $300 billion.

UPI, Oct. 22, 2018–Daniel UriaSpecifically, the groups are offering the loans to buyers with poor or rehabbing credit, which was one of the issues that contributed to the last meltdown — buyers who couldn’t afford the mortgages they had. Bank of America and NACA, though, say they have a vetting system in place to help prospective home buyers who shouldn’t be excluded by credit score alone.

HousingWire, Oct. 22, 2018–Jessica GuerinIn a mortgagee letter, FHA updated guidelines for servicers when submitting a HECM to HUD for assignment, which is done when the loan reaches a maximum claim amount of 98%.

Scotsman Guide, Oct. 19, 2018–Victor WhitmanMick Mulvaney, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, delivered what seemed to be a clear message this week at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention in the nation’s capital. He stressed that the bureau’s focus has changed, and that the prior CFPB leadership’s era of regulation by enforcement is over.

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 21, 2018–Yuka Hayahsi (subscription)Brian Johnson spent years as a congressional aide organizing Republican attacks on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Now, he is its No. 2 official, playing a central role in the Trump administration’s reshaping of the consumer-finance regulator.

National Mortgage News, Oct. 19, 2018–John Reosti (subscription)Bank OZK in Little Rock, Ark., did more than stub its toe when it reported lower profit tied to two big chargeoffs. The $22 billion-asset company may have lost the confidence of investors for the foreseeable future, even though management used an earnings call to passionately defend its heavy reliance on commercial real estate lending, where the chargeoffs took place.

Bloomberg, Oct. 19, 2018–Natalie Wong, Justina VasquezNew York developer Silverstein Properties Inc. built a $4 billion pipeline of real estate deals just weeks after starting. None of the money was for buildings it will own.

American Banker, Oct. 18, 2018–Hannah Lang (subscription)Donald Layton has just under a year before he retires as CEO of Freddie Mac after more than 40 years in the financial services industry, but the coming months are shaping up to be some of the most formative at the company since Layton joined in 2012.

Daily Breeze (Calif.), Oct. 18, 2018–Jeff LazersonThe Federal Housing Finance Agency, which is both the conservator and the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will likely increase the maximum loan limits for Fannie and Freddie according to Andy Leventis, FHFA’s deputy chief economist. (MBA mention)