The Lede

Rural Housing Service Administrator Tony Hernandez said recent changes to the agency's refinancing provisions will make it easier for borrowers to finance RHS loans and stay in their homes.

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said foreclosure activity increased slightly in April, but continued to drop from a year ago. It also reported the nation's foreclosure inventory fell to the lowest level since September 2007.

The TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure rules have forced lenders to rethink their processes and rely more on technology to originate loans more efficiently. To do this, smart lenders have implemented dynamic, sophisticated technology to help process, track and monitor loans during the origination and approval process in support of TRID compliance.

National Mortgage Professional, June 16, 2016--Hall, Phil There is nothing distressing about the latest data regarding distressed home sales. According to CoreLogic, distressed sales accounted for 9.9 percent of total U.S. home sales in March, down 2.7 percent year-over-year drop and a 1.7 percent dip from February.

Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2016--Rexrode, Christina The two banks have lagged behind Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan on certain metrics, including dividends, share-price gains and valuation.

HousingWire, June 20, 2016--Lane, Ben According to the FTC, the California-based law firms bilked millions of dollars out of homeowners who were facing foreclosure by telling them that they could join a "mass joinder" lawsuit against their respective mortgage note holders that could discharge their mortgage entirely, provide monetary relief, or both.

Bloomberg, June 20, 2016--Gittelsohn, John; Mulholland, Sarah U.S. commercial real estate prices may fall as much as 5 percent in the next 12 months amid tightened regulations, a wall of debt maturities and property sales by publicly traded landlords, Pacific Investment Management Co. said in a report Monday.

World Property Journal, June 20, 206--Gerrity, Mike According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding increased by $35.3 billion in the first quarter, as three of the four major investor groups increased their holdings. That is a 1.2 percent increase over the fourth quarter.

Investor's Business Daily, June 17, 2016 How large of an investment opportunity is being created by the upcoming Sept. 1 expansion of the familiar 10 major sectors with the debut of a new, 11th sector devoted to real estate, in benchmarks such as the S&P 500 and others run by S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI? The impact could be big.

Multi-Housing News, June 17, 2016--Fiorilla, Paul For most of the last six months, the top concern of the CMBS market was the "risk-retention" rule mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act that was approved by a host of regulators, including the Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission. But now some of the concerns about risk-retention are taking a back seat to some of the other regulations dealing with trading and the process of building pools in terms of the impact on pricing and liquidity in the market.

Bloomberg, June 17, 2016--Geiger, Keri; Farrell, Greg; Schoenberg, Tom U.S. prosecutors have abandoned their case against Angelo Mozilo, a pioneer of the risky subprime mortgages that fueled the financial crisis, after a two-year quest to bring a civil suit against him.

HousingWire, June 17, 2016--Swanson, Brena Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, announced on Friday that it plans to acquire a majority equity position in MERSCORP Holdings, the owner of Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems, collectively known MERS, sending a signal to the market that MERS is finally vindicated.

National Mortgage Professional, June 17, 2016--Hall, Phil The Mortgage Bankers Association filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission seeking to exempt mortgage servicing calls from the prior express consent requirements included in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

National Mortgage News, June 16, 2016--Finkelstein, Brad Lax oversight may have played a part in rising costs to finish the space Fannie Mae will be renting for its new headquarters, a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of the Inspector claims.

National Mortgage Professional, June 14, 2016--Hall, Phil The head of the nation's most prominent mortgage banking trade group is warning that proposals to rebuild the capital reserves of the government-sponsored enterprises and then terminating their federal conservatorship would result in unprecedented damage to the housing finance market.

Market Realist, June 15, 2016--Nyitray, Brent Ever since various state regulators and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau started leaning on Ocwen Financial (OCN), the servicing industry has been under tremendous regulatory pressure.

HousingWire, June 15, 2016--Swanson, Brena As discussions around the future of the GSEs and possible reductions in mortgage insurance premiums at the Federal Housing Administration start to reach a boiling point, Patrick Sinks, president and CEO of private mortgage insurer MGIC, questioned what FHA's role should be going forward.

Washington Post, June 15, 2016--Harney, Kenneth Want to put solar panels on your roof? A new program could help make that happen, and because it uses long-term mortgage money, the interest rates are similar to those on a regular home loan--currently less than 4 percent if you've got good credit.

Mortgage News Daily, June 15, 2016--Chrisman, Rob The Mortgage Bankers Association's Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance report stated that independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported a net gain of $825 on each loan they originated in the first quarter.

MarketWatch, June 15, 2016--Munnell, Alicia H. It does seem, at long last, that reverse mortgages are entering mainstream consciousness. And it may be happening just in time to help millions of Americans who will retire with grossly inadequate 401(k) balances to have a decent standard of living when they stop working.

HousingWire, June 14, 2016--Lane, Ben A recent report from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that mortgage credit availability is on the decline, with the Mortgage Credit Availability Index for May showing a decrease for the third straight month. And a new report from Fannie Mae suggests there's no light at the end of the tunnel for those who hope to see credit standards relaxed any time soon.

National Mortgage News, June 14, 2016--Blair, Wesley The author, with Brookline Bank in Boston, argues that condominium priority liens benefit everyone--condominium associations, condominium owners and the lenders financing their mortgages.

Bloomberg, June 14, 2016--House, Billy House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday unveiled a regulatory overhaul plan that includes scaling back the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulation law, expanding energy production on federal land and limiting lawsuits against businesses.

Scotsman Guide, June 14, 2016--Whitman, Victor Three of the four major investors in commercial mortgages increased their debt holdings in the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.