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Significantly fewer households expected to be in worse shape in the coming year than was the case last summer, according to a December survey. The results are a positive sign for banks at the start of earnings season.

Declining mortgage rates and home prices drove more positive views compared to the prior month, but December's overall outlook remained negative, Fannie Mae said.

Almost all the underlying loans, or 99.5% qualify as safe harbor qualified mortgage loans (SHQM) made to borrowers with very strong credit profiles.

The Arizona-based lender has been in business for 35 years and has branches in over 20 states.

The plaintiffs allege that the banks did not catch obvious red flags or implement proper safeguards such as requiring two employees to approve each transaction.

In recent weeks, Miami-based Lendmarq has swept up more than a dozen staff members.

However, the jobs picture for December was better than what was expected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics data found.

In a Jan. 1 reshuffling the mortgage giant also promoted its former wholesale chief to chief revenue officer of Rocket Mortgage.

The impact of a weakening economy on quarterly performance will become clearer by the second week of January as banks begin to report fourth-quarter earnings.

The sector is not immune to the same economic instability that affects the single-family residential market, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.