The Lede

Ahead of a series of votes scheduled today on several House bills addressing flood insurance, the Mortgage Bankers Association sent a letter to members of the House Financial Services Committee expressing support for some measures but raising concern over others.

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said March mortgage delinquencies fell to the lowest rate in 10 years.

Fitch Ratings, New York, said mortgage exposure for U.S. life insurers continued a run of strong performance in 2016 driven by low credit impairments.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency last week released its 2016 Report to Congress, which provides details on the Agency's activities over the course of the past year, including its actions as conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Returns on life company commercial mortgage investments rebounded in the first quarter to generate a 1.60 percent total return, the LifeComps Commercial Mortgage Index, Boston, reported.

Reuters, June 13, 2017--Richard LeongU.S. commercial real estate loans outstanding topped $3 trillion for the first time ever at the end of the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Tuesday.

National Mortgage News, June 13, 2017--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)While defaults and delinquencies are returning to pre-crisis levels, new compliance obligations that came out of the Great Recession have kept the cost to service mortgages elevated.

Mortgage Daily, June 13, 2017An opinion issued by the nation's highest court in a case involving a defaulted car loan could impact interpretation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

National Mortgage News, June 13, 2017--Ian McKendry (subscription)A key Republican lawmaker welcomed Treasury Department recommendations on how to reform financial regulations and expressed optimism that many of the suggestions could become law.

Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2017--Peter Grant; Richard Rubin (subscription)To finance a possible tax rate cut, some in Congress are eyeing the provision, which allows sellers to defer capital-gains taxes by reinvesting in other properties.

Fannie Mae, June 14, 2017--Mike HernandezFannie Mae vice president says industry must work harder to allow homeowner education to fit their needs.

Newsday, June 14, 2017--Maura McDermottFred and Theresa Tovar's mortgage lender--originally Beneficial Homeowner Service Corp., and later U.S. Bank Trust N.A.--had until Friday to file a motion seeking permission to take the case to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals.

New York Times, June 14, 2017--Gretchen MorgensonA spokesman for Wells Fargo, Tom Goyda, said the bank strongly denied the claims made in the lawsuits and particularly disputed how the complaints characterized the bank's actions.

National Mortgage News, June 16, 2017--Ian McKendry (subscription)A House Financial Services Committee report sharply criticizing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's handling of the Wells Fargo phony-accounts scandal was biased and left out key information, according to Richard Cordray, the agency's director.

HousingWire, June 16, 2017--Ben LaneIn Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley's words, the Obama administration used the practice "on multiple occasions to circumvent the congressional appropriations process by funneling money to politically active organizations and thereby effectively restore funding to organizations that Congress deliberately defunded."

Mortgage Daily, June 16, 2017Radian Guaranty Inc. has increased the allowable maximum loan-to-value ratio on some of its mortgage insurance products.

HousingWire, June 16, 2017--Kelsey RamirezEconomists are saying the drop in housing starts could intensify in the months ahead as building permits also saw a drop in May.

National Mortgage News, June 19, 2017--Brad Finkelstein (subscripition)PHH Corp. completed the sale of its Freddie Mac mortgage servicing rights portfolio to New Residential Corp. on June 16.