The Lede

MBA News

Top National News

Mortgage Bankers Bump Q2 Refi Forecast
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.
Full Story
Genworth Relaxes M.I. Guidelines
Mortgage Daily, May 15, 2017Genworth Mortgage Insurance has loosened loan-to-value ratios and jumbo guidelines on some programs.
Full Story
Nomura MBS Traders Charged With Fraud
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.
Full Story
AIG CEO Duperreault Says He’s Not Planning to Break Up Insurer
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.
Full Story
What Does the Renewed CFPB RESPA Investigation into Zillow Mean for Our Industry?
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.
Full Story
What Watt’s Banking Committee Testimony Means for GSE Reform
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.
Full Story
Ocwen and Radian Guaranty Showdown in Court for Alleged Breach of Contract
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.
Full Story
Fed’s Rosengren Warns GSE Reform Could Threaten Property Market
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.
Full Story
Hedge Funds Are Facing a U.S. Criminal Probe Over Bond Valuations
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.
Full Story
RBS CEO Sees Potential to Settle Major U.S. Mortgage Probe
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.
Full Story
Freddie Mac Explores Credit-Risk Transfer Idea to Gain more REIT Investors
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.
Full Story
Trump Administration, Senators Put Fannie, Freddie Overhaul Back in Play
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.
Full Story
Pros and Cons of Mortgage Servicer Diversification
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.
Full Story
The Shame of the Mortgage-Interest Deduction
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.
Full Story
New York Regulators Expand NMLS to Broaden Authority
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.
Full Story
Republicans May be Able to Overturn Two Decades of Regulatory Guidance
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.
Full Story
Wells Fargo Eyes Return to Mortgage Deals Shunned Since Crisis
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.
Full Story
Over $3.6 Billion in GSE Loans For Sale
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.
Full Story
Warren Pushes Trump Administration on Plan to Break Up Megabanks
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.
Full Story
Texas Orders Ocwen to Stop Acquiring New Mortgage Servicing Rights
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.
Full Story
Borrowers Benefit from Crowded Field of Bridge Lenders
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.
Full Story