The Lede

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said falling interest rates and easy access to refinance candidates pushed retention rates up in second quarter, with servicers retaining 24% of refinancing borrowers, the highest such retention rate since late 2017.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released its mid-year rankings of commercial and multifamily mortgage servicers' volumes as of June 30, showing Wells Fargo Bank NA, PNC Real Estate/Midland Loan Services, KeyBank NA, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC and CBRE Loan Services with highest volumes.

Slow-moving, powerful Hurricane Dorian has dominated the news for nearly two weeks; now, as it moves off the East Coast and into history, analysts have begun to assess its impact.

Ellie Mae, Pleasanton, Calif., said falling interest rates in July led to an increase in Millennial refinance activity.

Auction.com, Irvine, Calif., said 56 percent of properties sold to third parties at foreclosure auction were owner-occupied one year after the foreclosure auction date, compared to 43 percent of properties that reverted to the lender.

Home equity loan debt outstanding and borrower utilization rates declined in 2018, and mortgage lenders anticipate mixed activity this year and only modest increases in originations in 2020, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported yesterday.

Multifamily fundamentals remain healthy, demonstrated by record second quarter absorption. But the sector faces some threats, analysts said.

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 9, 2019--Kate Davidson (subscription)Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday he expects an agreement soon to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin retaining their earnings, one of the first steps in the administration's plan to return the mortgage-finance companies to private hands.

American Banker, Sept. 9, 2019--Hannah Lang (subscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is stepping up its enforcement actions after her predecessor had temporarily frozen the agency's ability to use the tool, said Director Kathy Kraninger.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 9, 2019--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)The Federal Trade Commission wants to block the merger of Fidelity National Financial and Stewart Information Services stating the deal would reduce competition for title insurance, including for large commercial real estate transactions.

24/7 Wall Street, Sept. 6, 2019--Paul AusickThe number of 2018 tax year returns claiming the mortgage interest deduction plunged from nearly 30.1 million in tax year 2017 to around 11.5 million in 2018, a drop of 62%. (MBA mention)

HousingWire, Sept. 6, 2019--Kelsey Ramirez"The reports recognize the need to better coordinate the roles of FHA and the GSEs," Mortgage Bankers Association CEO Robert Broeksmit said. "Such coordination must preserve affordable financing options for a wide range of borrowers and reflect the vital role FHA plays in the larger housing finance system."

CNBC, Sept. 8, 2019--ERic RosenbaumFor most homeowners who plan to stay in their residence for the long-term and received a mortgage in the last three years, it is worth looking at a refinance opportunity now, said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 8, 2019--Ben Eisen, Andrew Ackerman (subscription)The two mortgage giants have shed some risk, paid back their bailout and now report billions in income.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 6, 2019--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)A federal judge in Florida dismissed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's lawsuit against Ocwen Financial Services, stating the agency improperly asserted an excessive number of claims without specifying the particular count to which they applied.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 5, 2019--Hannah Lang (free article)The Treasury Department made clear in a much-anticipated report that its ultimate preference is for Congress to take up reform of the government-sponsored enterprises. That legislation would include an explicit government guarantee, and a new Ginnie-provided backstop for guarantors competing on par with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

American Banker, Sept. 5, 2019--Brendan Pedersen (subscription)The nation's 5,303 FDIC-insured institutions earned net income of $62.6 billion, an increase of 4.1% from the same time in 2018 and another record $139 billion. The FDIC also attributed higher profits to growth in realized securities gains.

American Banker, Sept. 6, 2019--Hannah Lang (subscription)The Trump administration's report on the nation's housing finance system raised the goal posts for ending the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but how officials get there is still highly uncertain.

Mortgage Professional America, Sept. 4, 2019--Steve RandallThe Mortgage Bankers Association's 2019 Home Equity Lending Study reveals that closed-end Home Equity loans are set for gains this year and next while open-ended HELOCs will decline this year before rising in 2020.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 4, 2019--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)Syracuse Securities Inc., a family-run lender and servicer in New York, is planning to wind down and transfer its outstanding pipeline to Premium Mortgage Corp.

WTOP (Washington, D.C.), Sept. 3, 2019--Jeff Clabaugh"On average, the industry is taking anywhere from 40 to 60 days for an application to close," said Joel Kan of the Mortgage Bankers Association. "Our estimate is for high volume to close in the third quarter with some of that being pushed into the fourth quarter just because of the high volume of applications we're seeing come in right now."

American Banker, Sept. 3, 2019--Penny Crosman (subscription)A year ago, the three major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - stopped including public information about unpaid taxes and court debts in consumers' credit reports. A year later, some say the absence of this data is contributing to poor lending decisions.