The Lede

The commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate closed out 2016 down 21 percent by balance from year-end 2015, but late-pays could reverse course in 2017, reported Fitch Ratings, New York.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Wednesday requested public input on chattel loan pilot initiatives for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and its proposed Evaluation Guidance under the final rule on Duty to Serve Underserved Markets.

A white paper from Community Blight Solutions, Cleveland, Ohio, estimates that the typical foreclosed home imposes costs of more than $170,000 and that simple remedies can effectively mitigate declines in property values and increases in crime.

Reports from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University and the National Association of Home Builders forecast a strong and stable market for home improvement and repair in 2017.

MBA Education presents Foreclosure Fundamentals, an informative webinar, on Thursday, Jan. 26 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 19, 2017--Fung, Esther; Maher, KrisSears and Macy's closings are a one-two punch for communities already battling retail flight and a changing economy.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 12, 2017--Jacob PassyThe foreclosure presale inventory rate fell year over year by 30% in December, signaling the most improvement of any year on record, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Reuters, Jan. 23, 2017--Jonathan StempelA U.S. judge on Monday narrowed but refused to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to hold Deutsche Bank AG liable to investors, including dozens of portfolios from BlackRock Inc and Pacific Investment Management Co, for losses on poorly underwritten residential mortgage-backed securities.

Mortgage Daily, Jan. 23, 2017--Sam GarciaAs he prepared to leave his post along with the rest of the Obama administration, the former president of Ginnie Mae talked about his wild ride over the past seven years.

Mortgage Daily, Jan. 23, 2017For the third month in a row, the nation's mortgage bankers have reduced the volume of refinance production they expect to generate this year.

Chicago Tribune, Jan. 23, 2017--Andrew KhouriOn Friday, the Trump administration suspended a pending rate cut to FHA mortgage insurance that the outgoing Obama administration announced just a week earlier.

HousingWire, Jan. 20, 2017--Swanson, BrenaThe highs Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's stocks experienced toward the end last year didn't stay long after Trump's Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin retreated from his original stance on privatizing the government-sponsored entities during his confirmation hearing.

National Mortgage Professional, Jan. 20, 2017--Hall, PhilThe battle over whether Richard Cordray should remain as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) or whether he should be fired by the new Trump Administration has intensified, with Cordray's supporters and detractors taking bold new steps to solidify their respective positions.

Bloomberg, Jan. 20, 2017--Light, JoeHUD on Friday said the agency is canceling a reduction announced last week while President Barack Obama was still in office. The Federal Housing Administration had planned to cut its annual fee for most borrowers by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.60 percent, effective on Jan. 27.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 17, 2017--Collins, Brian HUD's proposed guidance has stirred up a debate on elevation standards as flooding occurs more frequently and in more unexpected places. The higher elevation requirements could impact affordability and "may limit the number of newly constructed homes available to many first-time and low-to-moderate income borrowers," wrote Thomas Kim and Steve O'Connor of the Mortgage Bankers Association in a Dec. 21 comment letter.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 19, 2017--Finkelstein, BradMGIC Investment Corp. reported net income of $107.5 million for the fourth quarter, an increase of nearly 5% over the $102.4 million earned in the same period of 2015.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 19, 2017--Andriotis, AnnamariaBonds backed by certain risky single-family mortgages topped $1 trillion for the first time in November, crossing that threshold amid rising warnings for one corner of the housing market.

Mortgage Daily, Jan. 18, 2017Mortgage servicing rights are on the market for more than $4 billion in residential loans that are backed by Freddie Mac.

Bloomberg, Jan. 18, 2017--Dexheimer, Elizabeth; Mohsin, SalehaSteven Mnuchin, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump for Treasury secretary, defended his record as an owner of a mortgage-lender that was accused of unfair lending and foreclosure practices during the financial crisis.

HousingWire, Jan. 18, 2017--Lane, BenIn a unanimous opinion handed down Wednesday, the Supreme Court limited Fannie Mae's ability to transfer cases to federal court, ruling that the government-sponsored enterprise's charter does not grant it the right to move all state cases to the federal level.

CNBC, Jan. 18, 2017--Olick, Diana Total mortgage application volume was basically flat, rising 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 17, 2017--Fung, Esther; Smith, Jennifer Vacant space in malls is being filled by stores used for pickup and returns of goods bought online, and by online merchants looking to reach new customers.

HousingWire, Jan. 17, 2017--Swanson, Brena Senate Democrats dubbed President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, the "foreclosure king," but while this makes a nice soundbite, it simply isn't true, according to Movement Mortgage CEO Casey Crawford.

MarketWatch, Jan. 17, 2017--Goldstein, Steve    The Justice Department on Tuesday finalized its settlement with Deutsche Bank over allegations the German institution misled residential mortgage-backed securities investors in 2006 and 2007.

Yahoo! Finance, Jan. 20, 2017--Ausick, PaulThe national mortgage application fraud risk index rose from 108 in the third quarter of 2016 to 122 in the fourth quarter, according to researchers at CoreLogic, a sequential increase of 13%.