The Lede

Conventional wisdom suggests the commercial real estate marketplace operates in 10-year cycles--of which 2018 is Year 10. But new reports on commercial mortgage-backed securities performance indicate a market more in mid-cycle form.

First American Financial Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., said frequency of defects, fraudulence and misrepresentation in information submitted in mortgage loan applications decreased by 2.4 percent in May from a month ago and by 3.6 percent from a year ago.

A spike in new private-label residential mortgage-backed securities issuance has surfaced of late along with some credit risk trends that are worth watching in the coming months, said Fitch Ratings, New York.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 68,378 foreclosure prevention actions in the first quarter, bringing the total number of foreclosure prevention actions to 4.1 million.

Mortgage Daily, July 2, 2018Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae reported $99.571 billion in fixed-rate mortgage backed securities issued during June.

HousingWire, July 2, 2018--Kelsey RamirezThe Federal Reserve announced Monday that it is extending the stress test filing deadline by one year for some of the nation's largest banks.

National Mortgage News, July 2, 2018--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)The number of nonbank mortgage lenders and servicers that did not comply with the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act Annual Report requirements grew this year, prompting a reprimand and warning of penalties from the commissioner of the state's Department of Business Oversight.

Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2018--Michael Rapoport (subscription)PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP must pay $625.3 million in damages for failing to catch a fraud scheme that helped cause one of the biggest bank failures of the financial crisis, involving Colonial Bank in Alabama, a federal judge ruled Monday.

National Mortgage Professional, July 2, 2018--Phil HallKathy Kraninger, President Trump's choice to serve as the next Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will receive a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on July 19.

RESPA News, June 29, 2018 (Subscription)MBA launched its Certified Mortgage Compliance Professional Certificate and Designation program (CMCP). The designation was created to recognize the achievements of individuals in the real estate finance industry for their commitment to having a compliant workplace, specifically in the mortgage industry.

UExpress, June 29, 2018--Lew SichelmanAs too many homeowners have learned after a major loss, obtaining a full and fair settlement from their insurance companies isn't a given.

Mortgage Daily, July 2, 2018As serious mortgage delinquency fell to the lowest level since last year at Fannie Mae, new business jumped to the second-highest level this year.

National Mortgage news, June 29, 2018--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)The company that holds Washington Mutual's legacy business can move ahead with its plan buy a controlling interest in Nationstar Mortgage now that both companies' shareholders have approved the deal.

Wall Street Journal, June 30, 2018--Mengqi Sun, Leslie Scism (subscription)Major Atlantic Ocean hurricanes, California wildfires and Mexico earthquakes made 2017 one of the costliest years ever for insurers. But even that slate of disasters wasn't enough to dent insurers' fat capital cushions.

Wall Street Journal, June 28, 2018--Liz Hoffman, Lalita Clozel (subscription)Regulators cleared most of the largest U.S. banks to increase their dividends and share buybacks, but forced two Wall Street titans, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, to freeze those payouts at recent levels.

Charlotte Observer, June 27, 2018--Deon RobertsBank of America Corp. intentionally failed to maintain homes it foreclosed on in black and Latino neighborhoods across dozens of U.S. markets while consistently caring for similar properties in white neighborhoods, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week.

Mortgage Daily, June 27, 2018Ditech Holding Corp. is considering steps that could include the sale of the company. It's not the first time that Ditech's chief has overseen a large distressed mortgage firm.

National Mortgage News, June 27, 2018--Hanna Lang (subscription)The Trump administration's plan to end the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac marked its first effort to solve a problem left over from the financial crisis, but ultimately raised more questions than it answered.

American Banker, June 27, 2018--Edward J. Pinto, Tom LaMalfaThe authors say Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while still in conservatorship and with the blessing of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, are once again expanding into new products and programs with abandon--and in the process potentially adversely affecting industries, businesses and careers.

Naional Mortgage Professional, June 26, 2018--Phil HallCommercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose by by $44.3 billion in the first quarter, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage Daily, June 26, 2018The nation's largest mortgage insurance company, Arch MI, will not automatically align its own guidelines with guidelines for a new manufactured housing program from Fannie Mae.

HousingWire, June 26, 2018--Ben LaneImpac and Starwood Property Trust announced a deal that could see Starwood buying as much as $600 million in non-QM loans from Impac over the next 12 months.

National Mortgage News, June 26, 2018--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)The CFPB had argued that Ocwen's narrative answers to how it managed escrow accounts should not be kept under seal because of the substantial public interest in the government's enforcement action plus they did not contain trade secrets, Magistrate Judge William Matthewman noted in his ruling in a case being tried in the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

American Banker, June 26, 2018--Kate Berry (subscription)The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has been deliberating since April on whether Mick Mulvaney can continue as acting CFPB director. The three-judge panel appeared skeptical of the claim by Leandra English, the chief of staff under former CFPB Director Richard Cordray, that she is the rightful acting director. But the judges also raised questions about Mulvaney's dual role running the bureau and the Office of Management and Budget.