Category: Top National News

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)

Wall Street Journal, Oct. 18, 2018–Yuka Hayashi (subscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked an independent government watchdog to investigate past racial remarks made by Eric Blankenstein, its top enforcement official. CFPB acting Director Mick Mulvaney has sent an investigation request to the inspector general’s office for the Federal Reserve and CFPB.

DS News, Oct. 18, 2018–Radhika OjhaShort-term liquidity is a key factor in driving mortgage default, according to a research by the JPMorgan Chase Institute. The research, titled, Falling Behind: Bank Data on the Role of Income and Savings in Mortgage Default, measured the impact of a mortgage payment and principal reduction on default and consumption.

HousingWire, Oct. 16, 2018–Ben LaneBoth Wells Fargo and Bank of America rolled out digital mortgage applications this year, and the megabanks revealed Tuesday at the MBA Annual Convention just how much the programs are already being utilized by mortgage applicants. Hint: A lot.