The Lede

The Federal Housing Finance Agency yesterday issued a final rule on Federal Home Loan Bank membership that retains a controversial Mortgage Bankers Association-opposed restriction on captive insurers. 

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said the U.S. foreclosure inventory declined by 21.8 percent and completed foreclosures declined by 18.8 percent compared to a year ago.

RealtyTrac, Irvine, Calif., reported foreclosure filings on 1.083 million U.S. properties in 2015, a 3 percent drop from 2014 and a 62 percent decline from their 2010 peak. 

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 12, 2016--Light, Joe The Federal Housing Finance Agency said so-called captive insurance companies, which insure the risks of the companies that own them, no longer will be eligible for membership in government-backed federal home loan banks. Mortgage Bankers Association President David Stevens said the rule "removes a vital component of the FHLBank membership which provides liquidity for the real estate finance market."

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 12, 2016--Light, Joe A top federal housing regulator on Tuesday shut the door on mortgage investors who had been using a loophole to access low-cost, government-backed financing.

HousingWire, Jan. 12, 2016--Dalton, John The author, president of the Housing Policy Council, said it remains possible to move from the government-sponsored enterprise model and create a stronger secondary market system.

HousingWire, Jan. 12, 2016--Lane, Ben A trio of California foreclosure rescue companies targeted Hispanics with fake loan modifications, offering the false promise of mortgage relief in exchange for thousands of dollars, HUD alleged Tuesday.

Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jan. 12 In an editorial, the paper says Fannie Mae's HomeReady program echoes back to subprime programs that exacerbated the financial crisis of 2008 and should be squelched.

GlobeSt.com, Jan. 15, 2016--Bubny, Paul Returns on commercial mortgage loans held by life insurance companies made a strong recovery in the third quarter, LifeComps said Friday.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 15, 2016--Gillen, Kevin The author, general manager with TD Bank, said as the purchasing market heats up, the earnings advantage will go to MLOs who are backed by mortgage lenders that have a strong brand, deep pockets and an infrastructure that can support competitive rates, on-time closings and a suite of products that appeal to market needs.

Fortune, Jan. 14, 2016--Gandel, Stephen Goldman Sachs on Thursday said it reached an agreement in principal to resolve a long running government investigation into its sales of residential mortgage bonds in the run up to the financial crisis. The total settlement is just over $5 billion, and will include $1.8 billion in consumer mortgage relief.

Mississippi Business, Jan. 14, 2016--Wilmesherr, Ed Reading between the lines of the Dodd-Frank Act, it was easy to see Congress was not satisfied with the job the bank regulatory agencies had done in the run up to the 2007-2008 banking crisis.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 14, 2016--Collins, Brian The reverse mortgage industry is optimistic after recent reforms to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage by the FHA and newfound respect from financial planners.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 13, 2016--Tracy, Ryan; Rexrode, Christina; Glazer, Emily Forget too-big-to-fail. The operative question for the country's largest financial firms is increasingly whether the government has made it too expensive to be big.