Mortgages

From the largest banks to the smallest independents, policymakers want to hear the mortgage industry speak with one voice in the critical efforts to reform the government-sponsored enterprises.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency made just incremental changes to two of the seven affordable housing benchmarks.

Both parties appear interested in a deal on housing finance reform, but tough fights are ahead.

With lawmakers bracing for a major policy undertaking to reform the government-sponsored enterprises, they can take comfort that they don’t need to start from scratch.

The Main Street GSE Reform Coalition offered three principles: creating a capital buffer for Fannie and Freddie, continuing with reforms by their regulator and ending the conservatorship that began in 2008.

Borrowers can benefit from more inclusive data and tightening of certain credit file standards, but so far lenders continue to rely on older models.

Seeking to stay below $50 billion, the regional is selling its origination and servicing businesses.

The Senate is set to begin teeing up housing finance reform discussions at a Banking Committee hearing on Thursday, but many are skeptical that Congress will be able to succeed where it has failed in the past.

A key question for the future of housing finance is whether large and small lenders will both be able to compete, or will a new system favor Wall Street giants?

On March 31, 2017. Dollars in thousands

On March 31, 2017. Dollars in thousands

Corporate One FCU has teamed up with San Francisco-based Roostify to provide CUs and CUSOs with a streamlined digital mortgage platform.

The billionaire investor agreed to buy shares at a deep discount and provide a fresh credit line for the Canadian mortgage company, tapping a formula he used to prop up lenders from Goldman Sachs to Bank of America.

Less than a week after buying a firm that helps consumers find the best deposit rates, the Charlotte company said it is paying up to $39.5 million for a site that grades banking products for simplicity and fee structure.

Traditional partnerships with lenders have been eroded by compliance strains and new incentives to control more of the homebuying transaction.

The Financial Choice Act contains many positive reforms for community banks, but a provision affording benefits for holding loans on balance sheet poses risk for small lenders.

Readers chime in on the GSE conservatorships, bitcoin’s future, regulatory relief for regional banks, a recent Supreme Court ruling on debt collection, and more.

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