Finance

Freddie Mac completed its first multifamily credit risk transfer transaction that used an insurance/reinsurance structure.

Falling mortgage rates have reached the point where they are spurring speculation about a possible resurgence in refinancing.

Bank OZK's George Gleason, one of our community bankers to watch in 2019, needs to rein in the Arkansas bank's commercial real estate exposure to placate nervous investors.

An effort to increase awareness of the transition to a new benchmark rate, and nudge banks to start preparing, is expected to intensify in 2019.

Nonbank lenders are gearing up for new secondary market requirements and must make some difficult choices about whether to buy, sell or hold mortgage servicing rights, says Ruth Lee, the executive vice president of MorVest Capital.

The expected decline in conventional mortgage volume may open the door for more non-qualified mortgage lending as secondary market investors seek new opportunities to deploy capital, says Tom Millon, CEO of Capital Markets Cooperative.

After 10 years of conservatorship, the new year could finally usher in big steps toward housing finance reform.

Liquidity, products and pricing are the main concerns for the secondary mortgage market in 2019.

When it comes to reversing their crisis-era bond buying, central bankers are focused on the destination. Traders in risk assets care more about what could be a painful journey.

The industry could see a boost in mortgage lending from regulatory changes, but other factors may slow growth.

Top U.S. financial regulators assured Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during a hastily organized call they are seeing nothing out of the ordinary in markets.

Mortgage servicing assets are poised for gains in 2019. But as higher average mortgage rates spur lenders to sell servicing rights and diversify their loan offerings, servicers' work will also get more complicated and costly.

There is no banking crisis, but the president’s actions are threatening to create one.

CoreLogic is exiting its loan origination software and default management operations over the next 24 months and instead accelerated plans to transform its appraisal management company unit.

The Property Assessed Clean Energy sector is getting a boost from the expansion of improvements eligible to be financed via tax assessments, including fire resiliency and total building renovations, according to DBRS.

Ordinarily, declining property sales will cool the costs for housing. But existing-home sales have been underperforming their potential for 40 straight months and property values are still on the rise, according to First American Financial Corp.

Sentiment among homebuilders fell in December to the lowest level since 2015, missing all forecasts and signaling that the industry's struggles are intensifying amid elevated prices and higher borrowing costs.

Next year is unlikely to offer relief from higher rates or housing supply shortages, according to the consensus forecast from 24 of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's member firms.

Both the $646M UBS 2018-C15 and the $796M MSC 2018-H4 deals have relatively low leverage, helped by the inclusion of loans with investment grade characteristics.

The administration’s reported interest in having the White House aide run Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator signals a focus on constraining the mortgage giants’ role in the housing market.