The Lede

Ellie Mae, Pleasanton, Calif., said the percentage of refinances rose in December, the result of low interest rates and a lack of purchase inventory.

The Mortgage Bankers Association sent a letter of support for a House bill that would provide exemptions for key mortgage products and lenders who originate them.

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., released its Year-End 2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings fell by 27 percent from 2016 and down by 76 percent from its peak to the lowest level since 2005.

S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian, New York, said its Consumer Credit Default Indices jumped in December to its highest level since March, with the bank card default rate rising by 16 basis points.

In this MBA video, Mortgage Bankers Association Chairman Dave Motley, CMB, previews the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo, taking place Feb. 6-9 in Dallas.

In this MBA video, Mortgage Bankers Association Chairman Dave Motley, CMB, previews the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo, taking place Feb. 6-9 in Dallas.

In this MBA video, Mortgage Bankers Association Chairman Dave Motley, CMB, previews the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo, taking place Feb. 6-9 in Dallas.

National Mortgage Professional, Jan. 22, 2018--Phil HallThe House voted 243-184 to pass the Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act (HR 2954), which is designed to eliminate compliance regulations imposed on small financial institutions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Bloomberg, Jan. 22, 2018--Prashant GopalHouse prices are through the roof and builders' shares are soaring. When real estate investors get this confident, money manager James Stack gets nervous.

Bloomberg, Jan. 19, 2018--Jesse HamiltonFederal Reserve Vice Chairman Randal Quarles, the central bank's supervision chief, shared a laundry list of ways to make regulation less burdensome for Wall Street--including streamlining capital rules, overhauling post-crisis limits on trading and major changes to how the agency stress-tests banks.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 19, 2018--Brian Collins (subscription)The House has voted to exempt community banks, small credit unions and nonbank mortgage lenders from new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting requirements that went to effect Jan. 1.

HousingWire, Jan. 19, 2018--Ben LaneOcwen Financial is getting closer to putting its mortgage servicing issues with more than half the country's state regulators in the past.

24/7 Wall Street, Jan. 19, 2018--Paul AusickThe national mortgage application fraud risk index rose from 135 in the third quarter of 2017 to 138 in the fourth quarter, according to researchers at CoreLogic.

Bloomberg, Jan. 18, 2018--EditorialMaintaining FICO's monopoly would be convenient for regulators, who otherwise will have to manage and monitor an array of models, the editorial says. But competition is more likely to serve the interests of consumers and the economy.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 18, 2018--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Loan defaults associated with the three late summer hurricanes had a more immediate effect on MGIC Investment Corp.'s secondary market capital cushion than proposed changes by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Los Angeles Times, Jan. 18, 2018--James Rufus KorenDavid Eghbali said the actions that led to his firing and to a fine levied by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were part of his attempt to shield customers from fees demanded by the bank, including ones that Wells Fargo has since acknowledged were charged improperly.

Los Angeles Times, Jan. 18, 2018--Jim PuzzangheraMick Mulvaney once called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau a "joke ... in a sad, sick kind of way." Now, as its acting director, he's in a position to change it.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 18, 2018--Kate Berry (subscription)Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Mick Mulvaney has requested "zero" funding from the Federal Reserve in the second quarter and instead will use reserves to fund the agency.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 17, 2018--Ian McKendry (subscription)Mark Calabria, Vice President Mike Pence's chief economist, struck a bearish tone Wednesday on the prospects for a financial regulatory relief bill, saying that it may need to wait in line behind other policy initiatives.

Bloomberg, Jan. 17, 2018--Joe LightFederal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt wrote that he and agency staff believe the mortgage market should be supported by shareholder-owned utilities with regulated rates of return and an explicit government guarantee of mortgage bonds.

Detroit Free Press, Jan. 18, 2018--John GallagherA long-running Department of Justice lawsuit against Quicken Loans comes up for a hearing Thursday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith in federal court in Detroit. And Dan Gilbert isn't giving an inch.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 17, 2018--Kate Berry (susbcription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it plans to publish a series of requests for information in the Federal Register in the coming weeks asking for the public to weigh in on the agency's enforcement, supervision, rulemaking, market monitoring and education activities.

National Mortgage News, Jan. 16, 2018--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)The weighted average FICO credit scores of securitized reperforming loans are showing some deterioration, according to a DBRS study of bonds issued since 2015.

Mortgage Daily, Jan. 16, 2018The number of government-sponsored enterprise mortgages refinanced climbed to the highest level in nine months. Government-backed refinances, though, continued to fade, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

Mortgage Daily, Jan. 16, 2018New business at the Federal Housing Administration fell to a nine-month low, and a further drop is likely. Delinquency deteriorated. Meanwhile, the book of business continued to grow, HUD said.