National Mortgage News, Mar. 20, 2018–Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities backed by Home Equity Conversion Mortgages totaled $1.47 billion during February, up from $869 million the previous month and up from $713 million a year ago.
Category: Top National News
UBS to Pay $230M for Risky Mortgage-Backed Securities
Associated Press, Mar. 21, 2018Financial services firm UBS has agreed to pay $230 million to New York state in a legal settlement stemming from the firm’s handling of mortgage-based securities in the lead up to the 2008 financial crisis.
Critics of FHLB Membership Rule Aren’t Thrilled with Prospect of Repeal
National Mortgage News, Mar. 21, 2018–Brian Collins (subscription)The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., would reverse a 2016 rule by the Federal Housing Finance Agency that had expelled captive insurance companies from FHLB membership.
CFPB Handled Over 84K Debt Collection Complaints Last Year
National Mortgage News, Mar. 21, 2018–Kate Berry (subscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau handled 84,500 debt collection complaints in 2017 and consumers viewed or downloaded information 838,255 times from the agency’s web site last year on how to negotiate a settlement with a debt collector.
Look For Downward Pricing Of REITs
GlobeSt.com, Mar. 21, 2018–Betsy Kim The public market is saying something bad is going to happen to private real estate pricing.
Massive Title Insurance Merger: Fidelity National Buying Stewart for $1.2 Billion
HousingWire, Mar. 19, 2018–Ben LaneThe title insurance world is about to get a whole lot smaller, as Fidelity National Financial is set to buy Stewart Information Services in a massive $1.2 billion deal.
Why Reverse Mortgages are a Harder Sell Now
Fox Business, Mar. 19, 2018–Liz WestonEven before reverse mortgages became more expensive, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned last year against another strategy that some financial advisers were promoting: using the loans to delay claiming Social Security.
Non-Performing GSE Portfolio Sells
Mortgage Daily, Mar. 19, 2018A Freddie Mac offering sold through an auction process had three residential pools with more than $300 million in non-performing mortgages.
As Storms Get Stronger, Building Codes Are Getting Weaker
Bloomberg, Mar. 19, 2018–Christopher FlavelleThe Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety examined building policies in 18 Atlantic and Gulf Coast states and found that despite the increasing severity of natural disasters, many of those states have relaxed their approach to codes–or have yet to impose any whatsoever.
Few Homebuyers Balk at High Mortgage Rates
National Mortgage News, Mar. 16, 2018–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Only a small percentage of borrowers are deterred by the higher rates seen this year, even with the additional cost making it tough for first-time buyers to find affordable properties, said Redfin.