Category: Top National News

National Mortgage News, June 4, 2018–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the midst of reviewing the qualified mortgage rule, mortgage lenders and the secondary market are closely watching to see if the more industry-friendly bureau will loosen some of the consumer protections established by the Dodd-Frank Act provision.

HousingWire, June 5, 2018–Ben LaneSunTrust is in compliance with all of the servicing requirements of the National Mortgage Settlement, the settlement’s monitor said in a report published early Tuesday.

Mortgage Daily, June 4, 2018On Monday, CIT Group Inc. said it completed the sale of its Financial Freedom reverse mortgage unit.

HousingWire, June 1, 2018–Kelsey RamirezGinnie Mae said in the interest of providing additional clarity and transparency to its mortgage-backed securities investors, it announced it restricted VA single-family guaranteed loans pooled by three VA lenders: Freedom Mortgage, SunWest Mortgage and NewDay USA.

Bloomberg, June 1, 2018–Claire Boston (subscription)Commercial mortgage bonds are getting stuffed with the lowest-quality loans since the financial crisis by one measure, according to Moody’s Investors Service, a warning sign that the $517 billion market may be headed for harder times.

National Mortgage Professional, May 31, 2018–Phil HallThe Mortgage Bankers Association called on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to create an advisory council focused on the mortgage industry that would receive input from all stakeholders in the mortgage market.

Scotsman Guide, May 31, 2018–Victor WhitmanThe Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, or S. 2155, directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to establish rules on private PACE financiers that ensure that borrowers can repay the costs of the improvements. The largest mortgage trade group, the Mortgage Bankers Association, has been lobbying for tough rules on PACE loans, saying that consumers have been left unprotected.

Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2018–Jenny Strasburg, Ryan Tracy (subscription)The Federal Reserve has designated Deutsche Bank AG’s sprawling U.S. business in “troubled condition,” a rare censure for a major financial institution that contributed to constraints on its operations.

Mortgage Daily, May 31, 2018Acquisition of Franklin American Mortgage Co. by Citizens Financial Group will create a mortgage banking firm that ranks among the nation’s 15 largest.

NPR, May 31, 2018–Bill ChappelSears Holdings Corp., which controls Sears and Kmart, says it has “identified approximately 100 non-profitable stores, 72 of which will begin store closing sales in the near future,” in the latest sign of the retailer’s struggles to stay afloat.