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Public policy experts debated the effect of rising rates on the mortgage market, the impact on homebuyers and ways that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could exit conservatorship at the National Mortgage News Digital Mortgage Conference.

Even as Freddie Mac's survey put rates at their highest since December 2000, factors like rising oil prices and a government shutdown could slow the economy.

The Federal Reserve Inspector General's report on the failure of Silicon Valley Bank found that officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco wanted to remove the CEO from its board before examiners downgraded SVB's supervisory ratings.

The government-sponsored enterprise has created a Spanish-language version of its HomeView program.

The month-to-month decline was larger than all estimates received by Bloomberg in a survey of economists.

On a week-to-week basis, new application activity fell by 1.3%, with purchase volume off 2%, the Mortgage Bankers Association found.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said that consumer activity has slowed throughout the year, but should remain strong enough to position the economy for growth later in 2024.

The Department of Justice reached a $9 million settlement Wednesday with Westerly, R.I.-based Washington Trust over race-based lending discrimination and redlining in the state, saying the bank denied lending services to Black and Hispanic neighborhoods from 2016 to 2021.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a mortgage report based on statistics from 2022 and is looking for ways to simplify the refinance process while considering changes to mortgage servicing standards.

The rise in rates — 10-year Treasury yields are up over a percentage point since mid-May — is one of a series of shocks buffeting what's been a surprisingly resilient economy.