The Lede

Ginnie Mae, Washington, D.C. yesterday released a progress update to its Ginnie Mae 2020 white paper, detailing strides the agency has made toward modernizing its mortgage-backed securities platform, enhancing counterparty risk management and fostering improvements to its program.

Commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose by 1.3 percent ($45.4 billion) in the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning.

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said 17,000 residential properties regained equity in the first quarter, bringing the total number of mortgaged homes in negative equity to 2.2 million, or 4.1 percent of all mortgage properties.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquencies fell to near-record lows in the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

With discontinuation of the London Interbank Offered Rate likely ahead, the Mortgage Bankers Association yesterday released a disclosure template for residential mortgage lenders to share with consumers interested in applying for an adjustable-rate mortgage.

The Federal Communications Commission yesterday approved a Declaratory Ruling affirming voice service providers may, as a default, block unwanted calls known as "robocalls."

One of the few positive implications of incurring losses on 12,000-plus loans is that one can extract some lessons about commercial real estate lending from the experience, said Brian Olasov, Executive Director with Carlton Fields, New York.

The Senate yesterday by unanimous consent approved a bill that would close a loophole refinanced loans must meet to be eligible for the VA guaranty and for Ginnie Mae pooling.

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said even though overall home flipping activity fell in the first quarter, the rate of flipped home sales reached its highest rate since 2010.

The House Appropriations Committee yesterday approved the Fiscal Year 2020 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies bill, known as T-HUD, by a 29-21 vote.

National Mortgage News, June 10, 2019--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Ginnie Mae is examining whether the shift in business to nonbank issuers has implications for its ability to guarantee mortgage securities payments beyond those it has historically looked at.

Bloomberg, June 10, 2019--Adam TempkinFreddie Mac is making its first foray into green bonds, starting a new commercial mortgage-backed security program backed by loans to apartment building owners who agree to make their properties more environmentally friendly.

HousingWire, June 10, 2019--Jessica GuerinOcwen Financial announced Monday it hit two milestones enabling the company to officially service loans through its two primary brands: PHH Mortgage for forward servicing and lending, and Liberty Home Equity Solutions for reverse lending and servicing.

Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2019--Sara Krouse (subscription)America's telecommunications regulator passed rules last week that will let phone companies automatically block more robocalls. It hasn't yet said what, exactly, constitutes such a call.

HousingWire, June 7, 2019--Ben LaneAccording to the FHA's quarterly report for its fiscal second quarter, the average credit score for an FHA borrower fell to 665 in the second quarter. That's the lowest level since 2008, and is "well below" the FHA lending peak credit score of 703, which happened in 2011.

Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2019--Andrew Ackerman, Gabriel T. Rubin (subscription)Trump-appointed regulators came into office saying they would pare back Wall Street's postcrisis rulebook. More than two years into the administration's tenure, most of the work remains unfinished, particularly for the biggest banks.

Bloomberg, June 10, 2019--Saleha Mohsin, Austin WeinsteinTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made clear that freeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from U.S. control won't happen without a major overhaul of the nation's housing finance system, potentially dashing investors' hopes that they might soon make a windfall from their stakes in the mortgage giants.

National Mortgage News, June 7, 2019--Hannah Lang (subscription)The Trump administration has said it welcomes legislative reform to fundamentally restructure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But the Federal Housing Finance Agency has also made clear that it stands willing to do the heavy lifting itself.

National Mortgage Professional, June 6, 2019--Phil HallIndependent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks saw an uptick in their profits during the first quarter, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

National Mortgage News, June 6, 2019--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)The Mortgage Bankers Association created a template for originators to notify new borrowers when their adjustable-rate mortgage switches to a different index once publication of the London interbank offered rate discontinues.

HousingWire, June 6, 2019--Kathleen HowleyThe value of all U.S. owner-occupied homes increased to a record $26.1 trillion in the first quarter, according to a Federal Reserve report released Thursday known as the Flow of Funds.

National Mortgage Professional, June 5, 2019--Phil HallThe commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate published by Trepp LLC hit another post-financial cross low in May, falling 16 basis points to 2.66 percent.

National Mortgage News, June 4, 2019--Hannah Lang (subscription)Enacting GSE reform faces a whole host of obstacles, not the least of which is a divided Congress, and the administration has signaled its desire to shake up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Rep. Lacy Clay, D-Mo., the chairman of the housing subcommittee, and Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., the ranking member, agreed that congressional action was a priority.

American Banker, June 4, 2019--Penny Crosman (subscription)For the past four years, credit reporting has generated the most complaints in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaint database. It makes up 43% of all grievances in the database, a jump from 23% in 2016, according to an analysis by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund.