The Lede

FHA this week proposed a new rule to strengthen its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program.  

NEW YORK--Eight years later, the real estate finance industry is still dealing with thousands of pages of regulations and legislative "fixes" stemming from the financial crisis.

RealtyTrac, Irvine, Calif., said vacant U.S. properties in the foreclosure process fell to just over 19,000 in the second quarter, even as the overall number of vacant residential properties crept up.

NEW YORK--Representatives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they continue to make progress toward developing a Common Securitization Platform, but do not anticipate anything sooner than its projected 2018 implementation date.

Black Knight Financial Services, Jacksonville, Fla., said April foreclosure starts hit a 10-year low, while the nation's foreclosure inventory fell to its lowest level since 2007.

HousingWire, May 19, 2016--Ramirez, Kelsey Nearly all mortgage servicers subject to the terms of the National Mortgage Settlement achieved complete compliance with the NMS's servicing rules in the first half of 2015, according to a report from molnitor Joseph Smith.

Bloomberg, May 23, 2016--Scully, Matt The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Deutsche Bank AG inflated the value of securities in its mortgage-bond trading business and masked losses around 2013.

Associated Press, May 23, 2016 The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said the proof at trial was insufficient under federal fraud statutes to establish liability in connection with the "Hustle" mortgage program, which was run at the former Countrywide Financial.

HousingWire, May 17, 2016--Lane, Ben Americans are "paying more attention" to their debts in the wake of the financial crisis, and because of that increased attention, the share of consumers' disposable income that's going to mortgage debt is now at its lowest level in 35 years.

Bloomberg, May 17, 2016--Chiglinsky, Katherine Radian Group Inc., the second-largest U.S. mortgage insurer, said Chief Executive Officer S.A. Ibrahim will step down at the end of next year after steering the company through the financial crisis as weaker rivals collapsed.

New York Times, May 17, 2016--Goldstein, Matthew Life may soon get tougher for private buyers of distressed mortgages from the federal government. HUD said on Tuesday that it would announce, possibly as soon as this week, a new set of rules governing the sale of mortgages formerly guaranteed by the government.

Housing Wire, May 17, 2016--Swanson, Brena  As the spring home-buying season struggles to lift off, people point to tight credit as one reason, with Freddie Mac Vice President of Affordable Lending and Access to Credit Danny Gardner weighing in on the discussion at the Mortgage Bankers Association Secondary Conference in New York City.

Scotsman Guide, May 17, 2016--Whitman, Victor In a speech Monday, Mortgage Bankers Association President David Stevens said that reforms on the government-sponsored enterprises aren't moving fast enough.

National Real Estate Investor, May 18, 2016--Mattson-Teig, Beth Higher caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will deliver some welcome liquidity to a still booming multifamily investment market.

Bloomberg, May 19, 2016--House, Billy; Cirilli, Kevin Donald Trump says he'll deliver a plan in the next two weeks to rewrite the Dodd-Frank law. Around the same time, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling is promising to make his own proposal.

National Mortgage Professional, May 18, 2016--Hall, Phil The Federal Housing Administration is proposing a new rule that it claims will strengthen its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program.

Barron's, May 20, 2016--Stone, Amey There aren't a lot of great fixed-income options now that the Fed is talking about hiking rates, Treasuries are selling off and the rally in corporate credit has stalled. One suggestion from the folks at LPL Financial is mortgage-backed securities, or bonds that are backed by pools of mortgages.

HousingWire, May 18, 2016--Swanson, Brena Housing is as close to solving GSE reform as it is in solving "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

Wall Street Journal, May 18, 2016--Stevens, David MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, argues that traditional banks have pulled back from the mortgage lending business, primarily due to the federal government's onerous enforcement regime that is extracting hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and settlements. "Borrowers are fortunate to have well-capitalized and well-regulated independent mortgage banks ready to plug the gap," he said.

Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2016--Andriotis, Annamaria; Sidel, Robin U.S. credit-card balances are on track to hit $1 trillion this year, as banks aggressively push their plastic and consumers grow more comfortable carrying debt.

Bloomberg, May 19, 2016--Orr, Emma; Chiglinsky, Katherine Essent Group Ltd. may have an opportunity to buy Radian Group Inc., the rival mortgage insurer whose chief executive officer is stepping down, an analyst at BTIG LLC said.

MarketWatch, May 19, 2016--Riquier, Andrea Here's another sign the housing market is healing: even the undead are fading away. Zombie foreclosures--properties in the foreclosure process that have been left vacant--are down 30% in as of mid-May.

National Mortgage News, May 19, 2016--Passy, Jacob The experience of updating systems and overhauling workflows that mortgage lenders gleaned from implementing the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosures could prove useful to portfolio lenders as they implement a similarly complex accounting rule for reporting credit losses.

National Mortgage News, May 19, 2016--Finkelstein, Brad Fannie Mae is expecting a flat to declining interest rate environment for the next two years, while Freddie Mae believes rates will rise. Mike Fratantoni of the MBA predicted a 10-basis-point rise to 3.95%.

National Mortgage News, May 19. 2016 From the Common Security Platform and Freddie Mac loan sales to new accounting rules and what direction mortgage rates are headed, there was plenty to debate during this week's MBA Secondary Conference in New York.

Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2016--Tracy, Ryan Big U.S. insurers Prudential Financial Inc. and American International Group Inc. would face tougher capital requirements than their peers under new rules outlined for the first time Friday by the Federal Reserve's point-man on regulation.

National Mortgage News, May 20, 2016--McKendry, Ian Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton appears likely to embrace a recent plan to merge Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a single government corporation if she wins the White House.

National Mortgage News, May 22, 2016--Sinnock, Bonnie Ginnie Mae wants go one step further in its monitoring of issuers' operations. It plans to model how the liquidity of companies that issue its mortgage-backed securities would look under stress, so it can troubleshoot more effectively. Mortgage bankers have been working to help Ginnie address the resource management concern and they are open to the idea of stress tests, said MBA President and CEO David Stevens.