Finance

The outspoken former Trump administration official recently made headlines when he referred to the mortgage industry as a “ticking time bomb.”

The 18.5% increase in Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's purchase authority was the driver of a 41% decrease in higher balance originations between December and January.

The regulator's mortgage translations website offers the Supplemental Consumer Information Form in the six most-spoken languages in the U.S.

The former lender’s abrupt closure Wednesday and First Guaranty’s recent bankruptcy filing highlight difficulties in the current mortgage environment despite nonbanks being on stronger financial footing than their counterparts of 14 and 24 years ago.

The largest affordability crunch seen in years and increased secondary-market options make it more pressing and feasible to pilot financing for the lowest-cost manufactured homes, Urban Institute research suggests.

Capital adequacy at the four largest underwriters remained strong at the end of 2021 even with a slight decline from the prior year, Fitch Ratings said.

The fast-paced rise in rates should be good for banks — until it isn't. The higher interest earned on loan payments will at some point be offset by higher interest paid on deposits. The only questions are: When, and by how much?

Questions remain around switching benchmarks that could result in unexpected refinancings

Although the Federal Housing Finance Agency did move ahead with a controversial upfront charge aimed at covering commingled securities risk, it also committed to exploring alternatives that would address concerns from trade groups.

One of the secondary market alternatives the Federal Home Loan Banks of Chicago and Indianapolis offer has a new servicing partnership with PHH, and interest in further cultivating their community lending potential is growing.

Most distressed borrowers who obtained adjustments to their payment amounts saved more than 20% in the first quarter, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The move builds on the government-sponsored enterprise’s previous program that facilitated the collection of more rent payment records from tenants who work with its multifamily borrowers.

The package of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae MSRs has some unusual geographic concentrations and a nearly 2.63% delinquency rate, including foreclosures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is moving forward with the charge but also pledged to ensure it doesn’t undermine the uniform security’s advantages the way trade groups say it could.

JPMorgan Chase is laying off hundreds of home-lending employees and reassigning hundreds more this week as rapidly rising mortgage rates drive down demand in what had been a red-hot housing market.

Industry experts discuss evolving strategies in the hot MSR market as risks related to prepayments decline but concerns around credit and housing finance firms’ liquidity grow.

The agency eased rules regarding delinquency thresholds and reporting regulations through the end of June 2023.

If it works as intended, by calming inflation, it will help to keep mortgage rates low in the long-term.

Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, Truist Financial and PNC Financial were among the banks that said they are raising their prime lending rates from 4.0% to 4.75%.

Unlike two years ago, when the surge of refinance loans created a vast pool of free financing for the industry to use, today lenders must pay for it by the drink.