Category: News and Trends

With the 2018 hurricane season kicking into gear–and with residual effects of 2017’s devastating hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico still evident–flood insurance is very much on the minds of mortgage lenders and servicers. And with the National Flood Insurance Program set to expire (again) on July 31, the real estate finance industry is clamoring for action on Capitol Hill.

Strong new issuance volume and continued resolution activity contributed to the second consecutive month of decline in the commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate last month, reported Fitch Ratings, New York.

Facing a July 31 expiration date for the National Flood Insurance Program, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s grassroots advocacy arm, the Mortgage Action Alliance, issued a Call to Action, urging its members to call their elected officials to vote on a long-term reauthorization.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s consumer complaint and inquiry processes have resulted in “unwarranted regulatory burdens” for many financial services providers and asked the Bureau to develop new processes that properly define “complaints” and encourage consumers to resolve issues with providers before filing complaints.

ACES Risk Management, Pompano Beach, Fla., released its quarterly Mortgage QC Trends Report, noting distribution of critical defects has “shifted significantly” from 2016 to 2017 as the housing market moves from refinances to purchases.

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., released its Midyear 2018 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows 362,275 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, including default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions in the first six months of 2018, down 15 percent from the same period a year ago and down 78 percent from a peak of 1.654 million in the first six months of 2010.

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said mortgage delinquencies continued to decline in April, with only states affected by 2017 hurricanes lagging.

With yet another deadline looming for the National Flood Insurance Program, the Mortgage Bankers Association and nearly two dozen other industry trade groups urged Congress to take action and pass a long-term program extension.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should improve its delivery channels for dissemination of its financial education programs and eliminate its flawed “rate-checker” tool for consumers.

It’s been a busy few weeks at the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection/Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, personnel-wise.