Loan Think

Newly adopted municipal real estate transfer taxes have the potential to be costly to lenders if not disclosed properly.

The Trump administration's thinking on housing is filled with conflicts and contradictions, a quilt work of at times irrational proposals that seem to be at odds with the real world of mortgage finance.

Ginnie Mae's stress testing model was based on large issuers, and does not appear to adequately reflect important qualitative differences between larger and smaller issuers.

The most successful mortgage originators will use artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance and enable their people to have better, more meaningful engagements with customers.

Self-service technology gives borrowers the control, speed and convenience they desire, while providing lenders with higher origination volume.

The FHFA can go beyond a recent Trump administration report to level the playing field between the private sector and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Whether Congress and/or the mortgage industry is able to untangle two opposing threads in the Trump administration's plans is anyone's guess.

While many lenders lately managed their business expecting reduced volume, now they get to capitalize on extremely low mortgage rates. But today's benevolent conditions will not always be with the industry.

With its proposal to restrict disparate-impact claims, the Trump administration seems determined to solve a problem that does not exist.

The second half of 2019 is a prudent time to examine the CRE market in the context of an inevitable slowdown, taking into account how the current landscape is impacting lending practices.