The Lede

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said the nation's ‘tappable' equity saw the greatest calendar-year increase in 2017, rising by $735 billion to a record $5.4 trillion.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued its quarterly Credit Risk Transfer Progress Report, noting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have made "tremendous progress" in credit risk transfer from strong private-sector demand.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency yesterday said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will start issuing a new, common security, the Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, beginning June 3, 2019.

Mortgage Professional America, Apr. 3, 2018--Steve RandallThe paper, "Liquidity Crises in the Mortgage Market," highlights that many nonbank lenders failed during the housing bust but the sector has been growing since as the result of banks and others pulling back their exposure and tightening underwriting conditions.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 2, 2018--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)There is now less fraud risk associated with adjustable-rate mortgage applications and this will offset some of the higher hazard associated with a purchase market, said First American Financial Corp.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 2, 2018--Victoria Finkle (subscription)When draft Senate legislation--based on talks between Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Mark Warner, D-Va.--leaked back in January, observers had warned the effort would need to quickly pick up steam in order to have a prayer of enactment ahead of the midterm elections this November. Instead, momentum has been moving in the wrong direction.

Reuters, Apr. 2, 2018--Patrick RuckerMick Mulvaney, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said the agency has the kind of power that should only rest with Congress. "The Bureau is far too powerful, with precious little oversight of its activities," Mulvaney told Congress in a routine report.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 1, 2018--Peter Grant (subscription)Empty space in regional shopping malls reached a six-year high in the first quarter, adding further stress to regions being hit by a retail earthquake that is shaking up the job market across the U.S.

HousingWire, Mar. 30, 2018--Sarah WheelerThe TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule was conceived as part of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's noble goal of giving consumers information about their total loan costs before they signed documents that bound them in a 30-year contract. But for all the good intentions behind this rule, it's just not practical.

HousingWire, Mar. 30, 2018--Ben LaneThe report, published recently by the HUD Office of Inspector General, found that in 2016, the FHA insured an estimated 9,507 borrowers who were actually ineligible for FHA insurance because the borrowers had either delinquent federal debt or who were subject to federal administrative offset for delinquent child support.

MarketWatch, Mar. 30, 2018--Andrea RiquierAs of the fourth quarter of last year, the share of all refinances that were cash-outs rose to the highest since 2008, according to Freddie Mac data. Rates have churned higher since the presidential election in late 2016, though they spent much of 2017 reversing the immediate post-election surge.

Bloomberg News, Mar. 29, 2018The U.S. Department of Justice has reached an agreement with Barclays Capital and affiliates to settle a civil action filed in 2016 related to the mis-selling of residential mortgage-backed securities.

Mortgage Daily, Mar. 29, 2018The loans are just part of a $420 offering Freddie Mac announced on Feb. 15.

Mortgage Daily, Mar. 29, 2018First American Financial Corp. said risk of fraud on home-loan applications says that risk on loans with adjustable rates is lower than on fixed-rate mortgages. The report indicated a year-over-year rise in overall risk.

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 29, 2018--Rolfe Winkler (subscription)Open Door Labs Inc., which buys and resells houses, is in talks with investors to raise at least $200 million at a roughly $2 billion valuation, a deal that would help it purchase more homes and expand to new cities.

Financial Times, Mar. 29, 2018--Ben McLannahan, Joe Rennison (subscription)Home loans to people with scratches and dents in their credit histories dwindled to almost nothing in the aftermath of the crisis, as litigation-weary lenders retreated to patch up their balance sheets. But over the past couple of years a group of specialist firms has begun to bring the loans back, navigating a dense web of new rules drawn up to protect borrowers and investors.

Mortgage Daily, Mar. 28, 2018Residential loan servicers will soon be able to apply for licenses in the Keystone State as required by legislation that became law late last year.

HousingWire, Mar. 28, 2018--Ben LaneEquifax announced Wednesday that it is naming Mark Begor as its next CEO. Begor will take over at the company on April 16, replacing Paulino do Rego Barros, who took over as interim CEO when Richard Smith retired in the immediate aftermath of the company's disclosure of the breach.

Mortgage Daily, Mar. 28, 2018Improvements to lending guidelines at Freddie Mac include expanded loan-to-value ratios and more flexible condominium requirements.

New York Times, Mar. 28, 2018--Glenn ThrushThe Trump administration is attempting to scale back federal efforts to enforce fair housing laws, freezing enforcement actions against local governments and businesses, including Facebook, while sidelining officials who have aggressively pursued civil rights cases.

National Mortgage News, Mar. 28, 2018--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Lenders should not get so desperate chasing volume by originating lower credit non-qualified mortgage products that they are inviting the next regulatory crackdown, said David Stevens, the Mortgage Bankers Association's CEO.

Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), Mar. 27, 2018--Alex DeMarbanThe missteps largely involve McKinley Mortgage in Redding, Calif., and an investment fund it manages, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But the problems extend to McKinley Mortgage in Anchorage and the man who founded the company in Alaska in 1989, Tobias Preston, 55, a former fisherman from Homer who is president of both companies.

Mortgage Daily, Mar. 27, 2018Winning bidders have been announced for a portfolio of 182 Fannie Mae mortgages with a collective outstanding unpaid principal balance of $34.25 million.

Mortgage Daily, Mar. 27, 2018The first issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities solely backed by loans that were originated by loanDepot LLC is in the works.

Bloomberg, Mar. 27, 2018--Sarah Mulholland, Scott DeveauBrookfield Property Partners LP's deal to take over retail landlord GGP Inc. is "wholly inadequate," "a negative for the sector" and "neither exciting for GGP shareholders nor a good read-through for mall asset values." In fact, "investors should vote against the transaction as it does not offer sufficient value," said Wall Street analysts.

Bloomberg, Mar. 27, 2018--Chris DolmetschFacebook Inc. was sued by civil rights groups led by the National Fair Housing Alliance claiming the social-media giant's advertising platform allows landlords and real-estate brokers to exclude groups of people from receiving ads about housing based on characteristics such as family status or sex.