Mortgage Daily, Oct. 3, 2018A sharp drop in monthly consumer bankruptcy filings was complimented by a year-over-year improvement, the American Bankruptcy Institute reported.
Category: Top National News
Shopping-Mall Vacancies Are Highest in Seven Years After Big-Box Closings
Wall Street Journal, Oct. 3, 2018–Esther Fung (subscription)Rising shopping-mall vacancies across the U.S. are driving down rents, signaling that many retail centers continue to struggle despite the country’s strong economic growth and buoyant consumer confidence.
California Ballot Initiative Would Harm Affordable Housing
National Mortgage News, Oct. 2, 2018–Paul Centopani (subscription)If Proposition 10 passes vote this November, the ramifications will be felt on California’s affordable housing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Waters Bill Would Reverse Mulvaney’s Deregulatory Efforts at CFPB
National Mortgage News, Oct. 2, 2018–Hannah Lang (subscription)Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., unveiled a bill Tuesday to unwind Consumer Financial Protection Bureau policies instituted by acting Director Mick Mulvaney.
It’s Been One Year Since HUD Shook Up the Reverse Mortgage Industry
HousingWire, Oct. 2, 2018–Jessica GuerinTuesday marks exactly one year since HUD implemented HECM program changes in a move that took lenders by surprise and drastically impacted the reverse mortgage business.
Annual HECM Endorsements Sink to 13-Year Low
Mortgage Daily, Oct. 2, 2018During September, just 2,880 home-equity conversion mortgages were endorsed by FHA, the second-slowest month on record since at least December 2008.
Cybersecurity Spending’s Way Up. Is it Overkill, or Not Enough?
American Banker, Oct. 2, 2018–Andy Peters (subscription)The cost of fighting cybercrime at banks rose 9% over a recent 12-month period, according to a new LexisNexis Risk Solutions survey of 175 executives from bank and nonbank financial services firms.
Mortgage Industry Calls on CFPB to Rehab LO Comp Rule
National Mortgage News, Oct. 1, 2018–Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)The Mortgage Bankers Association and nearly a dozen trade groups said that after more than five years under the LO Comp rule, changes to the order should be among the CFPB’s top priorities in its review of the mortgage rules, according to a letter sent to acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney.
New Bill Clarifies VA Mortgage Eligibility in Ginnie Mae Securities
National Mortgage Professional, Oct. 1, 2018–Phil HallH.R. 6737, The Protect Affordable Mortgages for Veterans Act of 2018, would allow recently executed loans refinanced by the Department of Veterans Affairs home loans to maintain their eligibility for pooling in Ginnie Mae securities. Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Robert Broeksmit, CMB, says the trade group supports the bill.
CFPB Official Vows to Stay in Job After Reports of Past Racial Remarks
Wall Street Journal, Oct. 1, 2018–Yuka Hayashi (subscription)Eric Blankenstein, the top enforcement official at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday expressed regret for “poor conduct” regarding past racial remarks he made on a blog more than a decade ago, saying he was “absolutely committed to carrying out the bureau’s fair lending mandate.”