Category: Top National News

American Banker, July 30, 2018–Victoria Finkle (subscription)Ten years after the financial crisis, the regulatory pendulum appears to have swung firmly in banks’ direction. But scratch beneath the surface and the crisis remains surprisingly relevant in the national political debate today–and the memory of the damage it did poses a greater threat than many bankers would like to admit.

National Mortgage News, July 26, 2018–Hannah Long (subscription)The next director of the FHFA is still a mystery, but whoever succeeds current Director Mel Watt once his term ends in January will have a front-and-center role in efforts to reform the government-sponsored enterprises.

Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2018–Craig Karmin, Dana Mattioli, Emily Glazer (subscription)The San Francisco bank has been sounding out private-equity firms to drum up interest in the real-estate brokerage and investment bank, sources said. Wells Fargo bought Eastdil in 1999 for an undisclosed sum in an effort to bolster its commercial real-estate-lending business.

HousingWire, July 26, 2018–Kelsey RamirezOcwen Financial continues to lose money, posting yet another loss, however the company pointed out that the losses continue to grow smaller, though this one was still larger-than-expected by some.

Mortgage Daily, July 26, 2018Radian Group Inc. swung to a big profit from a quarterly loss a year previous. New policies written increased, the book of business expanded and delinquency decreased.

Bloomberg, July 25, 2018–Elizabeth DexheimerRep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said fixing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would top her list of priorities if Democrats take control of the House in this year’s mid-term elections and she becomes leader of the Financial Services Committee next year.

National Mortgage News, July 25, 2018–Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)A “technical snag” stands to “orphan” a subset of VA loans by excluding them from Ginnie Mae securities, according to Dan Fichtler, director of housing finance policy at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

American Banker, July 25, 2018–Kate Berry (subscription)Allied Progress, a nonprofit advocacy group, said in a lawsuit that it is seeking to compel the agencies to respond to a June Freedom of Information Act request seeking documents on Kathleen Kraninger’s record in government.

National Mortgage News, July 25, 2018–Kate Berry (subscription)During the first seven months of Mulvaney’s tenure, the CFPB had issued just one enforcement action, handing out the largest bank fine ever against Wells Fargo for failures in its auto lending and mortgage businesses. But since mid-June, the bureau has averaged about one public enforcement action a week.

Mortgage Daily, July 25, 2018Mortgage servicing rights are being offered on 14,102 Ginnie Mae loans that had an aggregate unpaid principal balance of $3.607 billion as of June 29.