The Lede

Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C. said the housing market--stuck in low gear during most of the recovery--is showing signs of picking up and becoming "unstuck."

J.D. Power, New York, said larger banks made "significant" gains in customer satisfaction measures in the past year, while mid-size and regional bank satisfaction leveled off.

MarketWatch, Apr. 27, 2016--Hoak, Amy Thin housing inventory has contributed to a spike in remodeling as buyers pour money into their current homes instead of moving--often using home equity to do it.

Daily Herald (Chicago), May 1, 2016--Woodard, Jim Most homeowners are now in a positive mode with their finances. By the end of last year, a million borrowers had regained their lost equity.

American Banker, Apr. 29, 2016--Berry, Kate A federal appeals court case challenging the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is raising concerns that if the agency loses, it could open the floodgates for a flurry of other lawsuits against the CFPB.

Bloomberg, May 2, 2016--Van Voris, Bob A federal judge approved Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s $272 million settlement with investors who claimed the bank misled them about the safety of billions of dollars worth of residential mortgage-backed securities.

Bloomberg, May 2, 2016--Keller, Laura J. Bank of America Corp. said it reached a $190 million agreement to resolve a six-year-old legal claim from Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle over mortgage-backed securities sold before the financial crisis.

National Mortgage News, May 2, 2016--Collins, Brian Servicing rights are high-yielding assets, making them attractive investments for hedge funds, real estate investment trusts and banks.

MarketWatch, Apr. 26, 2016--Riquier, Andrea As the housing market recovers, investors are taking another look at some of the investments derived from bets on mortgage credit. Real estate investment trusts that buy mortgage-backed securities and other income-producers may be ready for their moment.

Housing Wire, Apr. 26, 2016--Stevens, David We are in a housing crisis. This statement is not meant to invoke a sense of shock; it's simply an expression of fact.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 27, 2016--Finkelstein, Brad Clayton Holdings reported a $3.7 million pretax first-quarter loss, but Radian's mortgage insurance business had pretax income of $140 million, a 10% increase over the prior year.

HousingWire, Apr. 29, 2016--Finlay, Robert California continues its effort to pass a law that would require loan servicers to work with successor's to borrowers on loss mitigation options. The same effort failed last year. The California Mortgage Bankers Association and other industry groups pointed out numerous problems they said would cause harm for borrowers, lenders and the housing market.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 27, 2016--Berry, Kate Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray reiterated in a recent letter to Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., that lenders are allowed to fix non-numerical clerical errors for up to 60 days after the issuance of a corrected mortgage disclosure form.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 27, 2016--Collins, Brian Large lenders are pushing the Federal Housing Administration to revamp its loan defect taxonomy to provide more certainty about potential errors and mistakes that could lead to enforcement actions. "We are trying to get to a place where you don't have minor errors creating treble damages risk under false claims," said Pete Mills, a senior vice president at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 28, 2016--Finkelstein, Brad Arch Capital saw a 77% increase in the mortgage insurance segment's operating income, and its U.S. unit saw its new insurance written increase by 34%.

Block News Alliance, Apr. 29, 2016--Grant, Tim Losing a home to foreclosure has left such a bad taste with some former homeowners that they have lost much of their will and desire to go through the underwriting process to get approved for a new home loan--even though years may have gone by since the foreclosure episode.

HousingWire, Apr. 28, 2016--Lane, Ben Early Thursday morning, Joseph Smith, the monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, announced that Ocwen Financial was not in compliance with one of the performance metrics of the National Mortgage Settlement and prohibited the nonbank from taking foreclosure actions on more than 17,000 loans. In response, Ocwen noted the holds are not "frozen foreclosures," but that "Many of these loans have never been referred to foreclosure and never will be.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 28, 2016--Sinnock, Bonnie During the mortgage crisis, servicers recruited people from the origination business to help with loan modifications. Now the two sides of the industry are coming together in a new way.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 28, 2016--Berry, Kate The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will propose changes in late July to its mortgage disclosure rule to provide "greater certainty and clarity" to the mortgage industry. Pete Mills, a senior vice president of residential policy and member services at the Mortgage Bankers Association, said the changes requested by the industry do not involve policy issues but rather resolving differing interpretations of the rule.