Mortgages

Banks and other private lenders could help ease the liquidity crisis facing some companies that service Ginnie Mae mortgages, but are currently prevented from doing so by the agency's rules. A simple fix would benefit everyone involved.

But views are split, at least in the near-term on whether rising mortgage rates are holding back the Spring home purchase season.

The plan that the Federal Housing Finance Agency floated calls for Freddie Mac to actively invest in some new closed-end seconds as cash-out refinancing subsides.

Home loan originations were tepid in the first quarter, but higher margins helped large depositories bolster income even when the drop was particularly steep.

Mortgage rates rose this week as investors priced stronger than expected inflation and jobs affecting Fed moves into the 10-year Treasury.

Unintended consequences of shifting the burden for title insurance to the lender could end up harming consumers, several observers said.

In a study posted weeks after it raised concerns about "junk fees," the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau noted that the amount of borrowers paying discount points doubled from 2021 to 2023, with the increase larger among consumers with lower credit scores.

The $12.1 billion-asset DCU launched the loan platform in 2022, and has seen volume jump by close to $600 million from when talks began in 2019 to last year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received nearly 28,000 mortgage-related consumer grievances in 2023, the regulator said.

The Congressional Budget Office report on the Home Loan banks illustrates the ways the nearly 100-year-old system is integral to the U.S. economy, and its benefits for American consumers.