Mortgages

A movement is afoot to transfer the job of the Federal Home Loan banks to the Federal Reserve. This would be a disaster for small lenders.

The impact on things like servicing rights would raise costs even for lenders that aren't banks, according to Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Bob Broeksmit. Others disagree.

But at the same time, the publicly traded company is selling off another type of housing finance asset to some large depository institutions.

A continued slowdown in refinances, though, drove overall loan-application volumes lower last week, even as the Government Index posted a small gain, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Any comprehensive overhaul of the Federal Home Loan Bank System will have to navigate a dense thicket of countervailing regulatory and stakeholder priorities.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency also is offering more opportunities for public dialogue as stakeholders debate how fast the process should move forward.

Overall rate locks dropped 1.5% on a month-to-month basis; the drop in purchase volume was higher at 1.9%, Black Knight said.

The storm is slamming housing markets already beset by some of the nation's highest property insurance premiums.