Mortgages

On Sep. 30, 2017. Dollars in thousands.

Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union has begun thanking home buyers for their business by throwing housewarming parties for them once the process is complete.

The recently enacted tax reform bill is likely to encourage more consumers to rent instead of buy and tamp down the rapid rise in home prices.

Sen. Sherrod Brown called on the Trump administration to support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's enforcement action against PHH Corp., which agreed to a $45 million settlement this week related to foreclosure abuses.

Billionaire’s bid to buy MoneyGram is his latest setback trying to crack the U.S. market; banks want to stick with FICO while nonbanks want to use VantageScore.

Credit unions make strategic hires, promotions to beef up their loan departments and other professionals in the news.

The tax law is expected to eliminate 300,000 affordable housing units over 10 years in part because it will reduce the value of banks’ low-income tax credits, which finance half of all affordable housing units.

PHH Corp. agreed to a $45 million settlement to resolve allegations from 49 states and the District of Columbia that it engaged in "foreclosure process abuses" involving "inconsistent signatures" in its servicing business from 2009 to 2012. The settlement comes as the nonbank mortgage company continues its legal challenge to a separate regulatory action by the CFPB.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., has emerged as one of the most outspoken members of Congress when it comes to fintech, both embracing its potential and calling for regulatory guardrails.

Startups that have developed the technology for real estate finance are starting to conduct a broader array of transactions, including property sales.

The new name is an attempt to better capitalize on the strong brand recognition of TruStone Federal Credit Union.

The announcement Tuesday by Sen. Orrin Hatch that he will retire at the end of the year could have a ripple effect throughout the Senate, including the leadership of the Banking Committee.

Startups that have developed the technology for real estate finance are starting to conduct a broader array of transactions, including property sales.

Fannie Mae's serious delinquency rate climbed to a high not seen since March 2017, but remained lower than it was 12 months prior.

Any decline in home equity balances could be offset by higher demand for other types of consumer loans. The worry is that only borrowers with blemished credit will take out home equity loans, increasing the risk for banks and credit unions.

But bank will benefit long-term from tax reform; judge says accounting firm failed to detect mortgage fraud that did in Colonial Bank.

Over the past year, the focus of several banking policymakers has been how much the regulatory pendulum might swing back toward the industry’s liking. That theme will likely continue in 2018.

A regulatory relief package is likely to come out of the Senate in the new year, and lawmakers could follow it up with a housing finance reform push. But the midterm elections could cause some reform initiatives to grind to a halt.

The GSEs are on their way to paying back the money they owed the government under the original bailout deal made at the height of the financial crisis, making 2018 an opportune time for an overhaul of the housing finance market.

They aren't creating new products, but some lenders are advising cash-strapped customers in high-tax states to tap home equity or other credit lines to prepay property taxes before the new tax law kicks in.