Mortgages

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.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday launched a rate spread calculator and validation tool for financial companies reporting Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data starting Jan. 1.

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 banks’ risk.

David Becker is trying to prove to investors that his Indiana bank can succeed over the long term. With the rise of online banking and fintech firms, Becker is a community banker worth watching in the new year.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and four other Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are insisting on a recorded vote by the full Senate for the nomination of Brian Montgomery as Federal Housing Administration commissioner.

The seven largest national banks held less than 5% of loans that were delinquent at the end of the third quarter, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Friday.

It was a good year for CIT’s Ellen Alemany and JPM’s Sandie O’Connor, but Arjuna Capital’s Natasha Lamb hopes next year will be better. Mary Mack gets a bigger role at Wells Fargo, and Zoe Cruz gets a new one at Ripple. Plus, is Harvey Weinstein really Meryl Streep’s fault?

Former top commercial mortgage-backed securities strategist Trevor Murray accused the Swiss lender of illegally firing him in 2012 for blowing the whistle on attempts by traders to influence his research reports.

Bank allegedly “seriously breached” anti-money laundering rules; mortgage agencies will be permitted to retain $3 billion capital buffer.

Earlier versions of the bill would have caused bigger changes in how Americans finance home purchases, higher education and retirement. Still, the final legislation will have important effects on borrowing and saving decisions.

The announcement Thursday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt agreed to let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each build a $3 billion capital buffer avoided a potential crisis.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be allowed to build capital buffers to protect against losses under an agreement between the Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on Thursday.

Top officials at the Internal Revenue Service met with mortgage industry groups this week to discuss possible fixes to the agency’s verification system, which lenders rely on to process mortgage loans.

Mary Mack adds mortgage and auto units to her already large portfolio; futures price dips but volume up compared to Cboe’s first day of trading.