The Lede

Black Knight Financial Services, Jacksonville, Fla., said mortgage delinquencies spiked in April--but there is no cause for alarm.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released a new MBANow video featuring MBA Senior Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Bill Killmer, who discusses latest developments on Capitol Hill on the prospects of GSE reform.

Amid bleak news about the future of shopping malls-Fitch Ratings, New York, is the latest ratings agency to cite malls' ongoing struggles-retailers are stressing what they do best to stay relevant.

PHOENIX--Customer service has grown even more important to lenders and servicers because it can represent a competitive advantage, executives said here at the MBA Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released a new MBANow video featuring MBA Senior Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Bill Killmer, who discusses latest developments on Capitol Hill on the prospects of GSE reform.

PHOENIX--Customer service has grown even more important to lenders and servicers because it can represent a competitive advantage, executives said here at the MBA Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released a new MBANow video featuring MBA Senior Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Bill Killmer, who discusses latest developments on Capitol Hill on the prospects of GSE reform.

PHOENIX--Customer service has grown even more important to lenders and servicers because it can represent a competitive advantage, executives said here at the MBA Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference.

PHOENIX--Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financed record amounts of multifamily real estate last year and look to do even more, company executives said here at the MBA Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference.

PHOENIX--Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financed record amounts of multifamily real estate last year and look to do even more, company executives said here at the MBA Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference.

PHOENIX--Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financed record amounts of multifamily real estate last year and look to do even more, company executives said here at the MBA Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference.

Mortgage Orb, May 24, 2017--Patrick BarnardWorking with homeowners associations and condo owners associations often leads to confusion among servicers--and that confusion may lead to problems during the lien process.

Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2017--Christina Rexrode (subscription)Americans refinancing their mortgages are taking cash out in the process at levels not seen since the financial crisis.

National Mortgage News, May 26, 2017--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed a bill that will put vacant home foreclosures on a faster track starting Oct. 1.

Asbury Park Press (N.J.), May 26, 2017--Jean Mikle, Russ ZimmerHomeowners have until 5 p.m. Wednesday to request a mortgage forbearance certification from the state, under a program that aims to give Sandy victims a measure of financial relief.

American Banker, May 26, 2017--Kate Berry (subscription)A federal appeals court appears to be leaning toward a ruling in favor of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with several judges arguing that a single director is more accountable to the president than a multimember commission.

Mortgage Daily, May 25, 2017MSRs are being offered on 2,316 Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae loans with an aggregate unpaid principal balance of $439 million as of April 30.

Mortgage Daily, May 25, 2017Mortgage servicing rights on more than $1 billion in Ginnie Mae loans with a Texas concentration are being marketed for sale.

Associated Press, May 25, 2017--Christopher S. RugaberHome prices have recovered and housing equity now equals 58 percent of home values--the highest point since 2006. Yet borrowing against that equity has barely budged from post-recession lows, which helps explain why consumer spending remains weak eight years after the Great Recession ended. (MBA mention)

HousingWire, May 25, 2017--Ben LaneSunTrust Bank will pay a fine of more than $1.5 million for the bank's "pattern or practice of violations" of a portion of the National Flood Insurance Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve announced on Thursday.

National Mortgage News, May 25, 2017--Ian McKendry (subscription)A bill to overhaul the Dodd-Frank Act could get a vote in the full House as early as June 7.

Mortgage Daily, May 24, 2017The offering is for 44 non-performing single-family loans that have a collective unpaid principal balance of $4.3 million.

Morning Edition (NPR), May 23, 2017--Charles LaneMortgage Bankers Association President and CEO David Stevens says the conundrum that lawmakers are trying to solve is how to keep home prices affordable by keeping the 30-year mortgage but to do it without having taxpayers take all the risk.

Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2017--James Rufus KorenA recent Supreme Court decision that will allow mortgage discrimination cases against Wells Fargo and other banks to proceed is more than just another bad headline for the San Francisco financial giant.

National Mortgage News, May 24, 2017--John Heltman (subscription)Appeals court justices appeared divided on whether the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is constitutional during oral arguments Wednesday, with some judges suggesting the court had no power to decide otherwise while others said the current system was illogical and illegal.

The Street, May 24, 2017--Tony OwusuTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the Trump administration is considering adding a government backstop to the mortgage market, allowing the government to guarantee certain mortgage securities, reducing the role of federal home loan financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2017--Esther Fung (subscription)Bond rating companies are looking closer at securities tied to shopping mall debt as concerns intensify about mall owners' ability to repay their mortgages amid closures of anchor stores.

Mortgage Daily, May 23, 2017Secondary lending volume slipped last month at Freddie Mac as delinquency remained at a nearly decade low.

Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2017--Peter Grant (subscription)China Life Insurance Group is buying a 95% stake in 48 commercial properties scattered throughout the U.S. in deal that values the portfolio at $950 million and highlights the growing appetite among foreign investors for real estate in markets they mostly have ignored until now.

GoRion, May 23, 2017--Sam BourgiOn Aug. 31, publicly-traded real estate companies graduated out of the financial services sector into a sector of their own. How has the newest S&P 500 sector performed? The short answer is: not so well.

Reuters, May 23, 2017--Richard LeongThe U.S. Federal Home Loan Bank system has made progress in depending less on short-term debt to fund its longer-term assets through the sale of longer-dated bonds, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Melvin Watt said on Tuesday.

Dodd-Frank Update, May 23, 2017 (suscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau quietly announced that it plans to begin direct supervision of service providers. Two industry veterans spoke to Dodd Frank Update about the implications service providers face if direct third-party oversight by the bureau becomes a reality.

Bloomberg, May 23, 2017--Elizabeth DexheimerThe fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its chief, Richard Cordray, is in the hands of a Washington appeals court that will hear arguments Wednesday. The CFPB asked the court to reconsider its 2016 decision involving the agency's punishment of New Jersey mortgage company PHH Corp.