Mortgages

After 10 years of conservatorship, the new year could finally usher in big steps toward housing finance reform.

Rushing to copy the Amazon experience, banks and fintechs are focused on simplifying financial services online. A Georgia Tech researcher says that approach is risky.

Investors are spooked by banks' exposure to oil and other sectors threatened by a global slowdown as well as by policy uncertainties, but banks argue credit quality is strong and recession fears are exaggerated.

The mortgage industry heads into 2019 with little relief from the market strains of the past three years. To succeed — or at least survive — lenders must confront major questions about demand, affordability and market consolidation.

The industry could see a boost in mortgage lending from regulatory changes, but other factors may slow growth.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued guidance late Friday that will shield some new mortgage data from the public that lenders are required to report.

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to examine the outgoing committee chairman's bipartisan GSE reform bill, but lawmakers were already looking ahead.

The process to confirm Mark Calabria as FHFA director could be lengthy, forcing the White House to consider how it will proceed with housing finance reform under Joseph Otting as acting head of the agency.

The White House said that Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting will serve as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency beginning Jan. 6, after Director Mel Watt’s term ends.

Selling $1.6 billion in mortgages, and paying off a similar amount of wholesale borrowings, will allow the company to expand its net interest margin in 2019.