The Lede

The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to meet this morning to consider a Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations bill that would provide FHA with Mortgage Bankers Association-supported staffing and systems upgrades.

First American Financial Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., said frequency of defects, fraudulence and misrepresentation in the information submitted in mortgage loan applications decreased by 4.2 percent in April from March, marking the first monthly decline since last July.

The Hill, June 3, 2019--Juliegrace BrufkeThe House on Monday passed a $19.1 billion disaster relief package, finally sending legislation to the White House that had been repeatedly blocked by conservatives over the Memorial Day recess.

MReport, June 3, 2019--Seth WellbornOn Monday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac marked completion of their Single-Security Initiative with launch of the Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security .

American Banker, June 3, 2019--Hannah Lang (subscription)Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria blamed "burdensome" homebuilding regulations at the local level for helping to drive up housing costs nationwide.

Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2019--Elizabeth Winkler (subscription)Mall-based retailers reported dismal earnings last week, reminding investors of the sector's fundamental problems.

Bloomberg, June 3, 2019--Austin WeinsteinFannie Mae and Freddie Mac's watchdog has a vision for ending U.S. control of the mortgage giants that hinges on the companies holding more capital. But that dream could run into a cold political reality of making home loans more expensive as President Donald Trump ramps up his re-election bid.

HousingWire, May 31, 2019--Jessica GuerinPolicymakers have long struggled with how to fix the Federal Housing Administration's reverse mortgage program to prevent it from draining the agency's mortgage insurance fund. But researchers are the Urban Institute have an idea: Fix the program's servicing problems, which they call "one of the biggest drivers of losses in the HECM program."

Mortgage Professional America, May 31, 2019--Kimberly GreeneSustained low interest rates are tempting homeowners to move into bigger homes--with larger mortgages--instead of staying put and refinancing their current property.

Bloomberg, May 30, 2019--Christopher MaloneyWashington says a major change in the mortgage-backed securities market could make home loans more affordable nationwide. Not everyone on Wall Street is so sure.

HousingWire, May 29, 2019--Ben LaneThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Wednesday an investigation into the business practices of BSI Financial Services found that the Texas-based mortgage servicer violated multiple federal laws over several years.

Charlotte Business Journal (N.C.), May 29, 2019--Caroline HudsonThe complaint involves First Franklin Financial Corp., which was acquired by Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. in 2006. BofA then acquired Merrill Lynch in 2008. According to court documents, First Franklin sold defective mortgages to a residential mortgage-backed securities trust in 2007, but failed to inform U.S. Bank, who is acting as trustee.

New York Times, May 29, 2019--Stacy CowleyA New York State financial regulator is investigating a security vulnerability at First American Financial Corp., a title insurance company, that exposed an estimated 885 million records related to mortgage deals.

Wall Street Journal, May 29, 2019--Ryan Dezember (subscription)The private-equity firm late Tuesday sold more than $1 billion of shares of Invitation Homes Inc., the giant single-family home landlord it launched following the financial crisis in a wager that many Americans would be willing to rent the suburban lifestyle they could no longer afford to own.

HousingWire, May 28, 2019--Kelsey RamirezThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently published its spring 2019 rulemaking agenda, showing the regulatory matters it reasonably anticipates having under consideration through 2020.

American Banker, May 28, 2019--Kate Berry (subscription)While the rulemaking agenda suggests some significant moves by the agency in the near future, it leaves out mention of other areas of interest, such as compensation standards for loan originators, a more complete revamp of the CFPB's "Qualified Mortgage" standard and additional industry requests to water down the Dodd-Frank Act.

National Real Estate Investor, May 28, 2019--Beth Mattson-TeigPrivate equity real estate funds have enjoyed robust fundraising in recent years, resulting in record high levels of assets under management. Yet fund managers are bracing for more challenges ahead that could cause them to lower target yields.