Wall Street Journal, Feb. 17, 2016–Dulaney, Chelsea
Fannie Mae said economic growth could remain “unspectacular” this year despite a healthier labor market, according to a new report from the mortgage-finance company.
Category: Top National News
Wall Street Girds for Real Estate Debt It Must Invest In
Bloomberg, Feb. 17, 2016–Mulholland, Sarah
Wall Street firms are readying themselves for new rules aimed at requiring them to eat what they cook. A provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that takes effect in December forces banks to keep a stake in the commercial-property loans they package into securities and sell off to investors.
Mortgage Servicers Face Added Legal Risks with Autodial Calls
Scotsman Guide, Feb. 16, 2016–Whitman, Victor
Since this past summer, mortgage servicers have been at greater risk of getting slapped with a class-action lawsuit or stiff fines for making unwanted robo calls, legal analysts say. In February, the Mortgage Bankers Association wrote to several housing regulators, pointing out the conflicts created by federal policy on autodial calls.
Minneapolis Fed Chief: Break Up the Too Big to Fail Banks
National Mortgage Professional, Feb. 16, 2016–Hall, Phil
In his first speech as the new president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, Neel Kashkari took on a strikingly political edge by complaining about the limits in enforcing the Too Big to Fail aspect of a Dodd-Frank Act. Speaking at the Brookings Institution, Kashkari noted that his regional Fed bank was taking aim at the issue and then challenged Capitol Hill to do the same.
S&P: January Consumer Credit Default Rates Hold Steady
Standard & Poor’s, New York, said consumer credit default rates showed little change in January.
Despite Volatility, Freddie Mac’s 4Q Net Income Jumps to $2.2B
HousingWire, Feb. 18, 2016–Swanson, Brena
Freddie Mac recorded fourth quarter net income of $2.2 billion, a jump after net loss of $475 million for the third quarter of 2015, which marked the first loss in four years. The government-sponsored enterprise also posted a comprehensive income of $1.6 billion, up $2.1 billion from a comprehensive loss of $501 million for the third quarter of 2015.
Mortgage Servicers Feel Burden of Regulatory Pressure
Housing Wire, Feb. 18, 2016–Wheeler, Sarah
If there’s one unofficial yet overriding theme of this year’s National Mortgage Servicing Conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association, it has to be the pain of regulatory pressure on servicers.
Freddie Mac to Send $1.7 Billion Payment to Treasury
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 18, 2016–Dulaney, Chelsey; Light, Joe
Mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac said it would send a $1.7 billion payment to the Treasury in March as it reported a higher profit for the fourth quarter, driven by increased interest rates.
Here’s Proof Your Cybersecurity Efforts Might Totally Fail
HousingWire, Feb. 19, 2016–Wheeler, Sarah
The threat of a security breach is real and growing. Experts on a panel at the Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Servicing conference on Thursday outlined the threat trends facing the mortgage industry and what companies could do to make their companies safer from a cyber attack.
GSEs May Need Future Bailouts as their Reserves Continue to Dwindle, FHFA Director Warns
Scotsman Guide, Feb. 19, 2016–Whitman, Victor
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt warned this week that the government’s course of eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s capital buffers could lead to future taxpayer bailouts of the government-sponsored enterprises that could destabilize the housing market.