The Lede

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said foreclosure filings in April fell to their lowest level since November 2005.

Commercial property market supply and demand fundamentals remained relatively stable in the fourth quarter, reported Moody's Investors Service, New York.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt, in testimony yesterday on Capitol Hill, defended his agency's nearly 10-year conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and said the agency has implemented numerous measures to strengthen the secondary mortgage market.

Mortgage Daily, May 11, 2017The Mortgage Bankers Association, which made the predictions in its MBA Mortgage Finance Forecast, raised the current quarter's projection from $459 billion expected in its April outlook.

Mortgage Daily, May 15, 2017Genworth Mortgage Insurance has loosened loan-to-value ratios and jumbo guidelines on some programs.

Mortgage Daily, May 15, 2017Separate complaints were filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against James H. Im and Kee Chan.

Bloomberg, May 15, 2017--Sonali Basak, Katherine ChiglinskyBrian Duperreault, who took over as chief executive officer of American International Group Inc. on Monday, said he's not planning to split up the company as some activists have urged.

HousingWire, May 15, 2017--Brena SwansonWith a steady stream of enforcement actions and regulations coming out of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the years, the industry doesn't take the possible threat of getting a violation lightly. And one big company currently drumming up a lot of questions for lenders is Zillow.

Morning Consult, May 15, 2017--Ryan RaineyDavid Stevens, chief executive of the Washington-based Mortgage Bankers Association, said Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt could face political blowback if he takes independent action to protect the capital buffer. That, in turn, could lead to uncertainty, which could also cause markets, or Congress, to fret.

HousingWire, May 9, 2017--Kelsey RamirezIn short, Ocwen accuses Radian of not paying up on more than 9,000 defaulted mortgages; Radian is saying the claims are meritless.

Bloomberg, May 9, 2017--Christopher CondonPlans by Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration to reform government-backed mortgage companies could lead to a "significant shock" to the market for multi-family commercial real estate, said Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren.

Bloomberg, May 11, 2017--Matt Robinson, Christian Berthelsen, Chris Dolmetsch, Matt ScullyU.S. prosecutors are investigating one of Wall Street's darkest markets, focusing on hedge funds suspected of inflating the value of debt securities in their portfolios to juice the fees they collect.

Reuters, May 12, 2017--Andrew MacAskillRoyal Bank of Scotland Chief Executive Ross McEwan said the bank is in talks to settle one of the two major U.S. investigations into allegations it mis-sold mortgage-backed securities that it needs to overcome before the British government can sell its shares in the bailed-out bank.

HousingWire, May 11, 2017--Brena SwansonFreddie Mac announced it's contemplating making a change to the structure of its Structured Agency Credit Risk transactions in order to try and gain more investors.

Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2017--Andrew Ackerman (subscription)The Senate Banking Committee has begun behind-the-scenes work on the issue of how, exactly, to revamp the companies. The senators want to develop a framework to decrease the government's outsize role backstopping the nation's $10 trillion mortgage market.

Mortgage Daily, May 12, 2017Although a larger number of mortgage servicers results in some that present more risk, that is offset by the benefits of diversification.

The Atlantic--Derek ThompsonIt might be one of the most important policies in the U.S. economy, but the mortgage-interest deduction sounds esoteric to most people. Perhaps that's because, for most people, it's completely irrelevant.

HousingWire, May 12, 2017--Brena SwansonNew York Department of Financial Services announced it will be transitioning to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry in order to manage the license application and ongoing regulation of all nondepository financial institutions doing business in New York.

National Mortgage News, May 12, 2017--Ian McKendry (subscription)Republicans are working on a plan that could extend its reach so that it may be used to overturn certain policies all the way back to 1996. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., has led the effort to explore the outer bounds of the obscure legislative process that had hardly been used before President Trump took office.

Reuters, May 11, 2017--Dan FreedWells Fargo & Co., the largest U.S. mortgage lender, is hoping this year to sell bonds backed by mortgages without government guarantees for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, the head of the bank's consumer lending division said on Thursday.

Mortgage Daily, May 10, 2017One offering has 3,600 non-performing Fannie Mae loans with a collective unpaid principal balance of $613 million. Bids are due by June 1.

Bloomberg, May 10, 2017--Elizabeth DexheimerSen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is eager to pursue legislation that would break up Wall Street megabanks and has pushed the issue with members of the Trump administration.

HousingWire, May 10, 2017--Brena SwansonThe Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending recently ordered Ocwen Financial Corp. to cease and desist, adding its name to a growing list of states and regulators coming after the mortgage servicer over alleged violations of state and federal law.

National Real Estate Investor, May 10, 2017-Beth Mattson-TeigLenders chasing higher yields have crowded into the bridge lending space. And borrowers are cashing in on that competition with more favorable rates, and in some cases, more aggressive underwriting.