Category: Top National News

Detroit Free Press, Jan. 18, 2018–John GallagherA long-running Department of Justice lawsuit against Quicken Loans comes up for a hearing Thursday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith in federal court in Detroit. And Dan Gilbert isn’t giving an inch.

Bloomberg, Jan. 17, 2018–Joe LightFederal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt wrote that he and agency staff believe the mortgage market should be supported by shareholder-owned utilities with regulated rates of return and an explicit government guarantee of mortgage bonds.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 17, 2018–Ian McKendry (subscription)Mark Calabria, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief economist, struck a bearish tone Wednesday on the prospects for a financial regulatory relief bill, saying that it may need to wait in line behind other policy initiatives.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 16, 2018–Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)The weighted average FICO credit scores of securitized reperforming loans are showing some deterioration, according to a DBRS study of bonds issued since 2015.

Mortgage Daily, Jan. 16, 2018New business at the Federal Housing Administration fell to a nine-month low, and a further drop is likely. Delinquency deteriorated. Meanwhile, the book of business continued to grow, HUD said.

Mortgage Daily, Jan. 16, 2018The number of government-sponsored enterprise mortgages refinanced climbed to the highest level in nine months. Government-backed refinances, though, continued to fade, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

Reuters, Jan. 12, 2018–Pete SchroederThe Federal Reserve announced the fines against Goldman Sachs , Morgan Stanley, CIT Group, U.S. Bancorp , and PNC Financial as part of a broader effort to terminate enforcement actions begun in 2011 and 2012 against large banks for mortgage servicing shortcomings.

National Mortgage Professional, Jan. 12, 2018–Phil HallAccording to the senators, the new bill is designed to address the issue of “churning,” a process that results in repeated home loan refinancing that generates fees and profits for lenders at the direct expense of veterans and their families, often without their knowledge.

UExpress, Jan. 12, 2018–Lew SichelmanGinnie Mae–which packages government loans into securities for sale to investors in much the same way Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do with conventional loans–said it had restricted how often a lender is permitted to place a mortgage to the same borrower whose initial mortgage is in a Ginnie Mae loan bond.

Reverse Mortgage Daily, Jan. 15, 2018–Alex SpankoCount Carol Galante among the growing chorus of housing experts who believe the federally backed reverse mortgage program should be separate from the Federal Housing Administration’s other loans.