Category: Top National News

Bloomberg News, Mar. 29, 2018The U.S. Department of Justice has reached an agreement with Barclays Capital and affiliates to settle a civil action filed in 2016 related to the mis-selling of residential mortgage-backed securities.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 29, 2018–Rolfe Winkler (subscription)Open Door Labs Inc., which buys and resells houses, is in talks with investors to raise at least $200 million at a roughly $2 billion valuation, a deal that would help it purchase more homes and expand to new cities.

Mortgage Daily, Mar. 29, 2018First American Financial Corp. said risk of fraud on home-loan applications says that risk on loans with adjustable rates is lower than on fixed-rate mortgages. The report indicated a year-over-year rise in overall risk.

Mortgage Daily, Mar. 29, 2018The loans are just part of a $420 offering Freddie Mac announced on Feb. 15.

National Mortgage News, Mar. 28, 2018–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Lenders should not get so desperate chasing volume by originating lower credit non-qualified mortgage products that they are inviting the next regulatory crackdown, said David Stevens, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s CEO.

New York Times, Mar. 28, 2018–Glenn ThrushThe Trump administration is attempting to scale back federal efforts to enforce fair housing laws, freezing enforcement actions against local governments and businesses, including Facebook, while sidelining officials who have aggressively pursued civil rights cases.

Mortgage Daily, Mar. 28, 2018Improvements to lending guidelines at Freddie Mac include expanded loan-to-value ratios and more flexible condominium requirements.

HousingWire, Mar. 28, 2018–Ben LaneEquifax announced Wednesday that it is naming Mark Begor as its next CEO. Begor will take over at the company on April 16, replacing Paulino do Rego Barros, who took over as interim CEO when Richard Smith retired in the immediate aftermath of the company’s disclosure of the breach.

Mortgage Daily, Mar. 28, 2018Residential loan servicers will soon be able to apply for licenses in the Keystone State as required by legislation that became law late last year.

Financial Times, Mar. 29, 2018–Ben McLannahan, Joe Rennison (subscription)Home loans to people with scratches and dents in their credit histories dwindled to almost nothing in the aftermath of the crisis, as litigation-weary lenders retreated to patch up their balance sheets. But over the past couple of years a group of specialist firms has begun to bring the loans back, navigating a dense web of new rules drawn up to protect borrowers and investors.