HousingWire, June 5, 2017–Brena SwansonThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and PHH entered their next court room battle, and possibly their last, to finally answer at least two major issues plaguing the industry.
Category: Top National News
Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Increase
Mortgage Daily, June 5, 2017The American Bankruptcy Institute said businesses and consumers collectively filed 69,668 new cases in the nation’s bankruptcy courts in May.
2017 RMBS Issuance Well Ahead of 2016
Mortgage Daily, June 5, 2017S&P Global said volume of residential loan securitizations has more than doubled the level activity at the same point last year.
U.S. Looks To Get Mortgage Giants Fannie And Freddie Out Of Conservatorship
Morning Edition (NPR), May 23, 2017–Charles LaneMortgage Bankers Association President and CEO David Stevens says the conundrum that lawmakers are trying to solve is how to keep home prices affordable by keeping the 30-year mortgage but to do it without having taxpayers take all the risk.
The Case That Could Doom Elizabeth Warren’s Wall Street Watchdog
Bloomberg, May 23, 2017–Elizabeth DexheimerThe fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its chief, Richard Cordray, is in the hands of a Washington appeals court that will hear arguments Wednesday. The CFPB asked the court to reconsider its 2016 decision involving the agency’s punishment of New Jersey mortgage company PHH Corp.
CFPB to Directly Supervise Service Providers; Vendors React
Dodd-Frank Update, May 23, 2017 (suscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau quietly announced that it plans to begin direct supervision of service providers. Two industry veterans spoke to Dodd Frank Update about the implications service providers face if direct third-party oversight by the bureau becomes a reality.
U.S. Federal Home Loan Banks Rely Less on Short-Term Debt: FHFA’s Watt
Reuters, May 23, 2017–Richard LeongThe U.S. Federal Home Loan Bank system has made progress in depending less on short-term debt to fund its longer-term assets through the sale of longer-dated bonds, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Melvin Watt said on Tuesday.
REITs: How Has the S&P 500’s Newest Sector Performed?
GoRion, May 23, 2017–Sam BourgiOn Aug. 31, publicly-traded real estate companies graduated out of the financial services sector into a sector of their own. How has the newest S&P 500 sector performed? The short answer is: not so well.
China Life Buys Sprawling Portfolio of Small-Market U.S. Real Estate
Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2017–Peter Grant (subscription)China Life Insurance Group is buying a 95% stake in 48 commercial properties scattered throughout the U.S. in deal that values the portfolio at $950 million and highlights the growing appetite among foreign investors for real estate in markets they mostly have ignored until now.
Freddie’s New Business Dips, Delinquency Holds
Mortgage Daily, May 23, 2017Secondary lending volume slipped last month at Freddie Mac as delinquency remained at a nearly decade low.