Commercial lending

Freddie Mac issued its first non-low-income housing tax credit forward commitment, providing financing for an affordable housing development in Minnesota.

Richard Harra was also fined $300,000 for painting a false picture of the bank’s financial health at the height of the financial crisis.

An agency report said servicing portfolios have shrunk by nearly half in 10 years as much of the mortgage market has shifted to nonbanks.

The performance of loans included in commercial mortgage-backed securities improved for the fifth consecutive quarter, with delinquencies down 179 basis points over the time frame, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Social Finance, the lending and refinancing startup valued at more than $4 billion, is cutting about 7% of its staff, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Minorities are still charged more for mortgages when all other applicable credit factors are equal — both in person and online, according to a new study by the University of California, Berkeley.

The move allows the New York multifamily lender to make more loans without having to raise capital.

Online personal lending pioneer Prosper is developing a home equity line of credit product that it will offer in partnership with banks. The embrace of traditional depositories marks a departure from fintech lenders that typically seek to disrupt and displace legacy institutions.

Amazon has yet to announce the winning city for its second headquarters, but investors in JBG Smith Properties seem pretty convinced that northern Virginia is going to take the cake.

A low-rated segment of an index that most closely tracks the performance of U.S. mall mortgage loans saw its biggest decline in more than a year in October.