Mortgages

Supporters maintain hope that the Federal Housing Administration will revive a proposed premium cut, but a key obstacle remains: There's no one to run the agency.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final rule to formalize guidance on a number of TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures compliance points omits an originally proposed fix for the so-called black hole that's created when a mortgage closing is delayed.

Readers this week highlighted the need for banks to upgrade payments systems, debated a small bank’s decision to ditch its legacy core vendor, lamented populist initiatives of the GSEs, and more.

Jerome Powell says it's “now or never” to cut the government’s role in mortgage finance; Justice Department is monitoring eight banks for suspected money laundering.

With traditional mortgage lending opportunities becoming increasingly scarce, banks in Seattle and Portland are loading up on jumbos, diving into multifamily and reviving dormant bridge loan programs.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jerome Powell stopped short of endorsing any single housing finance reform plan, but called on lawmakers to resolve what he described as the biggest unfinished business of the crisis.

The renewed debate on reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is focused on how small and midsize banks would be affected.

If HSBC reaches an agreement with the government, it could give an early indication of how the Trump administration will levy financial penalties.

The Trump administration's Justice Department was expected to be less aggressive in its pursuit of False Claims Act cases against the mortgage industry. Instead, its focus has shifted to Federal Housing Administration-insured reverse mortgages.

From the largest banks to the smallest independents, policymakers want to hear the mortgage industry speak with one voice in the critical efforts to reform the government-sponsored enterprises.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency made just incremental changes to two of the seven affordable housing benchmarks.

Both parties appear interested in a deal on housing finance reform, but tough fights are ahead.

With lawmakers bracing for a major policy undertaking to reform the government-sponsored enterprises, they can take comfort that they don’t need to start from scratch.

The Main Street GSE Reform Coalition offered three principles: creating a capital buffer for Fannie and Freddie, continuing with reforms by their regulator and ending the conservatorship that began in 2008.

Borrowers can benefit from more inclusive data and tightening of certain credit file standards, but so far lenders continue to rely on older models.

Seeking to stay below $50 billion, the regional is selling its origination and servicing businesses.