Category: Top National News

Mortgage Daily, Aug. 15, 2018Ginnie Mae II mortgages account for 12,194 loans for $2.285 billion, Fannie Mae A/A loans make up 5,694 units for $0.869 billion, and there are just 85 Fannie Mae MRS loans for $0.019 billion.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 14, 2018–Hannah Long (subscription)With Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt’s term due to end in January, his successor – either a Senate-confirmed appointee or an interim chief – has substantial authority to set part of the path forward on GSE reform, including how far Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac expand their mission and the status of a common securitization platform shared by the two mortgage giants.

Mortgage Daily, Aug. 14, 2018A $4.9 billion penalty included in a settlement between the Department of Justice and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc is reportedly largest of its kind ever for the department.

Wall Street Journal, Aug. 14, 2018–Josh Zumbrun (subscription)Gradually rising interest rates have yet to dent Americans’ appetite for borrowing, with the total stock of new debt climbing to $13.3 trillion in the second quarter, continuing a gradual rise in household borrowing over the past four years, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 13, 2018–Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)The percentage of nonconventional financing for new-home purchases fell to 30.8% in 2017, from 31.5% in 2016. For reference, 2016 was the first time this share represented less than a third of the market since 2008.

Bloomberg, Aug. 13, 2018–Jeanna SmialekGross domestic product remains well below what its 2007 trend would have implied and it’s unlikely the economy will ever make up that lost ground, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco published Monday. The hit will cost the average American $70,000 in lifetime income, they estimate.

American Banker, Aug. 13, 2018–Victoria Finkle (subscription)As the negative headlines pile up, a question arises: Has Wells fatigue set in?

National Mortgage News, Aug. 10, 2018–Neil Haggerty (subscription)The Federal Reserve Board announced an $8.6 million fine against Citigroup Friday, alleging deficiencies in how a subsidiary prepared certain mortgage-related documents in 2015.

Mortgage Daily, Aug. 10, 2018Monthly FHA business inched higher and might accelerate further. Delinquency turned sharply higher, and reverse mortgage production was the slowest it’s been in four years. But commercial mortgage endorsements doubled.

HousingWire, Aug. 9, 2018–Ben LaneThe government-sponsored enterprise issued a new warning this week, identifying 10 new purported employers that do not seem to actually exist.