The Lede

For the overwhelming majority of Americans--and mortgage lenders and servicers--there's more good news on mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures.

The commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate fell again in August for the sixth consecutive month, but large loans liquidated with high loss severities drove up the second quarter's loss severity figure, analysts said.

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said despite slower home price growth, U.S. tappable equity surpassed $6 trillion for the first time, impacting 44 million homeowners with mortgages.

Homeowners in white, minority and mixed-race neighborhoods posted substantial gains in home equity between 2012 to 2018, said Redfin, Seattle.

Higher home values and rising mortgage rates are eroding housing affordability for homebuyers, especially in hot West Coast markets, said Zillow Inc., Seattle.

You've heard them on the radio or seen them on TV or print--those seemingly endless "disclaimers" issued at blinding speed by some John Moschitta wannabe at the end of an advertisement (or sometimes at the beginning) pushing important, often-unintelligible legal mumbo-jumbo out of the way.

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said with fewer homes available, home flipping in the second quarter fell to its lowest level since 2014.

First American Financial Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., reported loan defects in mortgage loan applications decreased by nearly 10 percent from a year ago--and said the real estate finance industry has fintech to thank.

HousingWire, Sept. 10, 2018--Jessica GuerinThe lender has been largely focused on traditional purchase loans, but now it's throwing some weight into growing its reverse mortgage channel.

American Banker, Sept. 10, 2018--Neil Haggerty (subscription)The Federal Reserve Board commanded much attention after passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act for the agency's expanded authority to supervise big banks. The spotlight is again shining on the central bank as regulators implement a new law to ease regulatory burden.

Mortgage Daily, Sept. 10, 2018A policy change is being proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that is intended to jump start the use of trial disclosure programs.

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 8, 2018--Greg Ip (subscription)Ten years ago this month, the failure of Lehman Brothers exposed how cavalier the world had been towards risk. Households had bought homes they thought could never go down in price, banks had made loans they thought would never default and repackaged them into securities to make them seem riskless and governments, convinced depressions were a thing of the past, had stood by.

Los Angeles Times, Sept. 9, 2018--Jim PuzzangheraAmid the chaos caused by Lehman's collapse, the big banks got hundreds of billions of dollars in bailouts. Aggressive stimulus efforts by Washington officials injected trillions of dollars more into the financial markets and the economy, helping to end the recession, trigger record bank profits and fuel a historic stock market boom. But there were no big bailouts for lower- or middle-income Americans.

Washington Post, Sept. 7, 2018--Roger LowensteinIn a happier world, we would be celebrating the bank bailouts of 10 years ago. They stopped a scary downward spiral, averted a longer-lasting depression and quickly led to a recovery that endures today. Instead, the bailouts poisoned American politics, specifically by destroying the then-moderate center of the Democratic Party and shifting the base of the Republican Party into the netherworld of conspiracist paranoia.

National Mortgage Professional, Sept. 5, 2018--Phil HallA coalition of housing, mortgage financial services trade organizations issued a public letter to the Trump Administration and congressional leaders asking that reform efforts involving the government-sponsored enterprises be given a new degree of priority.

American Banker, Sept. 7, 2018--Neil Haggerty (subscription)Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission urging them to hold credit reporting agencies accountable. In September 2017, Equifax disclosed the breach that ultimately affected 148 million consumers.

Marketplace, Sept. 6, 2018--Amy Scott"The system is in much better shape than it was before," outgoing Freddie Mac CEO Donald Layton said. "All financial institutions have much stronger backing behind them, much higher capital ratios."

American Banker, Sept. 6, 2018--Penny Crossman (subscription)The fintech sector poses a growing risk to the financial system because it lacks the regulatory restraints put on banks, according to a new paper released Thursday by Federal Financial Analytics.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 6, 2018--Hannah Long, Neil Haggerty (subscription)The legislative path is extremely narrow for a new housing finance reform plan by House Financial Services Committee Jeb Hensarling, but it injected a dose of hope for progress on an issue that is more often stuck in neutral.

Bloomberg, Sept. 6, 2018--Elizabeth DexheimerHouse Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, unveiled a proposal Thursday that would effectively shutter Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Their roles would be replaced by enabling private companies and Ginnie Mae to backstop the trillions of dollars of mortgage-securities that underpin the U.S. housing market. 

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 6, 2018--Cezary Podkul (subscription)When Lewis Ranieri invented mortgage bonds, he never thought it would turn out this way. The father of mortgage-backed securities lives with remorse for his role in the housing crisis.

CNBC, Sept. 6, 2018--Diana OlickWhile most agree the status quo can't remain the status quo forever, no one wants to see a shock to the mortgage system and a reversal of this decade of repair. (MBA mention)

National Mortgage News, Sept. 6, 2018--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Dollar volume of private-label residential mortgage-backed securities issuance this year is the highest it has been since the Great Recession, despite a decline in new originations, said Fitch Ratings.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 5, 2018--Joseph OttingThe Comptroller of the Currency writes "a broad consensus has emerged that we can make a dramatic improvement in how the Community Reinvestment Act works and increase lending, investment and other banking activity where it is needed most."

HousingWire, Sept. 5, 2018--Jacob GaffneySeptember 6, 2018, marks the 10-year anniversary of the Federal conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. By the beginning of next year, the Trump administration is likely to become the dominant force overseeing the entire nation's housing finance infrastructure.

Mortgage Daily, Sept. 5, 2018Freddie Mac CEO Donald Layton informed the company's board of directors that he plans to retire; Freddie's executive vice president and head of multifamily, David Brinkman, has been promoted to President.

Scotsman Guide, Sept. 5, 2018--Victor WhitmanBanking trade groups, such as the Mortgage Bankers Association and American Bankers Association, have argued that HUD's rule doesn't align with the 2015 Supreme Court decision on disparate impact in the so-called Inclusive Communities case involving the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and the Inclusive Communities Project.

HousingWire, Sept. 5, 2018--Ben LaneWith the 10-year anniversary of the government taking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship approaching, a coalition of the housing industry's largest trade groups and others is calling on the Trump administration and Congress to enact permanent reforms to the government-sponsored enterprises.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 4, 2018--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Delinquencies for loans securing commercial mortgage-backed securities continued to decline, although they are still well above rates for other types of investors, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage Daily, Sept. 4, 2018Securitizations of residential loans backed by Fannie Mae soared to a 19-month high, leading overall agency issuance higher.

Mortgage Daily, Sept. 4, 2018Monthly new business slipped at Fannie Mae. Loan performance on the secondary lender's residential portfolio was the best in nearly 11 years.

American Banker, Sept. 4, 2018--Hannah Long (subscription)Under the proposal, Volcker Rule compliance would be revised, the rule would be tailored for institutions that participate in fewer trading activities and the definitions of certain prohibited trades would be altered.

American Banker, Sept. 4, 2018--Kate Berry (subscription)Kathy Kraninger, a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget, was mostly tight-lipped about her plans for the agency at her July nomination hearing. But watchers saw clear signals of her interest in the agency's budget as a focus, as well as in conducting cost-benefit analyses of all rulemakings.