Category: Top National News

Wall Street Journal, Aug. 27, 2018–Esther Fung (subscription)CBRE Global Investors has purchased a 49% stake in three malls in a deal that values them at more than $1 billion and shows that investors still have an appetite for top-tier retail property.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 24, 2018–Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Moody’s Investors Service downgraded JPMorgan Chase’s prime jumbo mortgage originator assessment to its second-highest rating, citing the bank’s growing reliance on correspondents with delegated underwriting authority and shortcomings in its technology infrastructure.

Mortgage Daily, Aug. 24, 2018New quarterly business moved modestly higher at Quicken Loans Inc., as did the company’s mortgage servicing portfolio.

The Hill, Aug. 23, 2018–Sylvan LaneAll 13 Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee voted to recommend the confirmation of Kathleen Kraninger to lead the polarizing financial regulator for a five-year term, while all 12 Democrats opposed her. The Committee also approved Michael Bright as President of Ginnie Mae by voice vote.

HousingWire, Aug. 23, 2018–Ben LaneThe SEC took action against Equitybuild, Equitybuild Finance, and the company’s operators, the father and son team of Jerome and Shaun Cohen, for allegedly defrauding at least 900 investors by promising guaranteed returns on real estate investments.

Charlotte Observer, Aug. 23, 2018–Deon RobertsWells Fargo is laying off 101 employees in its Charlotte-area mortgage operation, part of a nationwide cut affecting 638 employees, the company said Thursday.

USA Today, Nathan Bomey, Charisse JonesThe parent company of the two chains, Sears Holdings, announced Thursday that it would close about 5 percent of its remaining stores, all of which it said were losing money, totaling 46 stores.

HousingWire, Aug. 22, 2018–Ben LaneHUD said Wednesday that it will continue moving forward in its effort to change a controversial Obama-era fair housing rule now that a federal court has struck down a challenge to the Trump administration’s moves.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 22, 2018–Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)Better consumer credit quality helped push the serious mortgage delinquency rate to its lowest level since the Great Recession, but originations remain low due to a combination of tighter underwriting standards and eroding homebuyer affordability, according to TransUnion.

Mortgage Daily, Aug. 22, 2018More than a billion dollars in single-family loans that were previously non-performing are being moved from Freddie Mac’s balance sheet to a securitized trust.