National Mortgage News, Nov. 30, 2017–Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Final “duty to serve” evaluation guidance for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aim to include more incentives for the agencies to go above and beyond mandatory increases in lending to underserved markets.
Category: Top National News
To Better Assess the Risk of FHA Programs, Separate Reverse and Forward Mortgages
Urban Institute, Nov. 30, 2017–Edward Golding, Laurie GoodmanFormer HUD official and Urban Institute exec say Congress could take a positive step by removing the HECM portfolio from the MMI Fund.
Tax Reform Threatens to Drain GSEs’ Dwindling Capital
National Mortgage News, Nov. 29, 2017–Ian McKendry (subscription)As the Senate launched into debate on tax reform Wednesday, a still-unanswered question was whether lawmakers will address a potentially huge negative consequence for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Mortgage Cap Would Hit California, Florida, New York Hardest
Bloomberg, Nov. 29, 2017–Vincent Del Guidice, Wei LuAssuming a 20 percent down payment, the three states together are estimated to have more than 80,000 homes currently listed for sale where the mortgage could reach at least $500,000, the limit laid out for new home sales in the House Republican tax plan. In California, that’s 44 percent of homes on the market.
RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Expanding into Mortgage Lending
HousingWire, Nov. 29, 2017–Ben LaneRoundPoint announced Wednesday that it recently launched a retail mortgage lending division, which is licensed in 42 states.
Court Sides with Trump in Consumer Agency Fight
The Hill, Nov. 28, 2017–Sylvan LaneA federal judge on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit from an official who claims that she, and not President Trump appointee Mick Mulvaney, is the rightful director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Trump Team to Recommend Keeping Dodd-Frank Liquidation Power
Wall Street Journal, Nov. 29, 2017–Ryan Tracy (subscription)The Trump administration doesn’t plan to recommend stripping regulators of their power to seize and unwind a failing financial firm in a crisis, according to people familiar with the matter, a development likely to make defenders of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law breathe a sigh of relief.
FHFA Increases Conforming Loan Limits for 2nd Straight Year
HousingWire, Nov. 28, 2017–Ben LaneThe Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Tuesday that it is increasing the conforming loan limits from $424,100 to $453,100 for 2018.
Wells Fargo Is Dubbed a Repeat Offender and Faces New Wrath From Its Regulator
Wall Street Journal, Nov. 29, 2017–Gretchen Morgenson, Emily Glazer (subscription)A federal regulator has advised Wells Fargo & Co.’s board of directors that it is weighing a formal enforcement action against the bank over improprieties in its auto-insurance and mortgage operations.
Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp See Rare Growth In Mortgage Servicing Portfolios
Forbes, Nov. 28, 2017–TrefisWells Fargo joined its smaller rival U.S. Bancorp to report a sequential improvement in its total mortgage servicing portfolio for the third quarter, making this the first time in more than four years that two of the nation’s five largest banks bucked the industry-wide trend of quarter-on-quarter declines in this figure.