Mortgages

The Federal Housing Finance Agency got an earful from housing experts at a listening session intended to aid a comprehensive review of the financing system.

Investors are looking past the current boom in loan activity, fearing that inflation and other factors will cool demand and make it harder for borrowers to make payments.

Western Alliance, in its first appearance on the list of leading banks with more than $50 billion of assets, landed at No. 1. The Phoenix company and the other top performers in this class have either created niche businesses, made acquisitions or done both.

Investor activity in the housing market has had a nominal impact on the cost of housing, the head of the National Rental Home Council writes, citing research by one of the government-sponsored enterprises. Supply-demand imbalance is the primary driver of price appreciation, he argues.

The middle of a housing market downturn is no time to experiment with untested underwriting tools.

These standout performers all reported a three-year return on average equity above 14%. Two of them topped 20%.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency soon will commence a review of the Federal Home Loan Bank System. For the process to be successful, the actual users of the system and the institutions that will be the most impacted by any changes to its mission, mandate or role need to add their voice to the conversation.

Leading institutions with assets between $10 billion and $50 billion say growth strategies outside their traditional geographic bounds drove strong returns in 2021 and have steeled them for this year's challenges.