Industries

Though the Federal Housing Finance Agency has yet to provide full details about its new refinancing program to be launched next year, some analysts and industry observers are already convinced it will have only a limited impact.

Though no legislation is likely to pass prior to the election, lawmakers will be busy throughout September with hearings featuring top Federal Reserve Board officials and voting on a much anticipated financial reform bill. Here are five things to keep an eye on.

Regulatory infighting over bond loans offered by down payment assistance programs has the potential to curtail lending to first-time buyers and do real damage to homeownership.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can still manage their risk exposure even after reducing or eliminating "loan level price adjustment" fees.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has long been a staunch defender of the mortgage interest deduction. But the group's president and CEO now says he's open to Congress reducing, or even eliminating, the tax break.

The National Association of Realtors is urging policymakers to implement reforms meant to qualify more condominium buyers for Federal Housing Administration loans.

Former Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Co. Chairman and Chief Executive William Lacy Jr. died Sunday from respiratory failure. He was 71.

Equifax and TransUnion have stopped selling traditional credit reports, forcing lenders to buy their new, more expensive "trended" data reports that mortgage investors aren't using yet.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced the extension of the Home Affordable Refinancing Program through September 2017 as well as the creation of a new program for those with high loan-to-value ratios.

A long-running dispute between the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the agency's Office of Inspector General over down payment assistance programs is beginning to have an impact on lenders.

The Bancorp in Wilmington, Del., has sold a loan portfolio as part of its effort to reduce the size of its discontinued commercial loan book.

New specifications for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's common mortgage application unveiled Tuesday add data points and remove obsolete questions, as well as include additional capabilities to promote digital mortgage workflows.

Despite headwinds working against the mortgage insurance industry, this business could be the catalyst for bringing private capital back to the mortgage market.

The first commercial mortgage-backed security to comply with "skin in the game" requirements was extremely well received. Market participants credit the way the large banks sponsoring the deal retained the risk – a strategy unavailable to nonbank lenders.

Arch U.S. MI's acquisition of United Guaranty Corp. will make one of the smallest private mortgage insurers the sector's new market leader. While the move is likely to ease pricing competition among the six remaining players, it's not expected to set off a wave of further consolidation.

United Community and Wells Fargo are among the banks building platforms to lend to senior-care facilities. Demographics suggest the business should grow significantly in coming years.

A Federal Housing Finance Agency rule that will force some members of the Federal Home Loan Bank System out next year is likely to have a material effect on several of the cooperative institutions.

Mortgage lenders can expand their businesses by catering to borrowers who aren't proficient in English, but doing so requires strategic recruiting and hiring and compliance with federal and state regulations.

The Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development has found a new ally in his fight to reform the down payment assistance programs run by HUD and state and local housing finance agencies.

Under pressure from regulators to beef up risk management in commercial real estate lending, banks are using new software tools to improve analysis.