Even as concern over the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus mounts, the most recent data on area home sales from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service shows the market for Seattle-area residential realty remains hot.

Mortgage rates hit their lowest point since Freddie Mac began tracking this data in 1971, as the 10-year Treasury yield fell below 1% after the Federal Open Market Committee's surprise short-term rate cut.

A drop in interest rates in response to the coronavirus outbreak is adding urgency to a hiring spree across the mortgage industry.

The Fed’s decision to cut its benchmark interest rate amid growing coronavirus concerns is bound to have an impact on banks, but just how broad and how deep remains to be seen.

The Federal Reserve has voted unanimously to cut the interest rate 50 basis points to 1.10% effective March 4, in the first emergency rate cut since 2008.

The Federal Open Market Committee cut the fed funds rate target 50 basis points to a range between 1% and 1.25%, it announced Tuesday.

Policymakers may not wait until their mid-month meeting and could act with other central banks.

The Federal Reserve is monitoring the COVID-19 issue and its economic effects, according to a release from the central bank, attributed to Chairman Jerome Powell, released Friday.

Officials from 10 midsize American banks said U.S. regulators' preferred index for replacing the maligned Libor benchmark is ill-suited for them.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told senators that the central bank is willing to explore a credit-sensitive interest benchmark in addition to the secured overnight financing rate, which some banks say could cause problems during economic stress.

Banks' lowering of origination fees and loosening of underwriting standards often foreshadow a downturn.

Though she stopped short of mentioning the FDIC and OCC by name, Fed Gov. Lael Brainard objected to several key elements of those agencies' proposal.

High-grade corporate bonds bested mortgages by a wide margin in 2019 and are likely to outperform them again this year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Instability among foreign relations typically drags down long-term interest rates and the latest crisis with Iran could be a catalyst for a drop in 2020, according to NerdWallet.

Regulators' oversight of the industry's switch to a new interest rate benchmark is expected to intensify as a key deadline approaches.

President Trump lets his thoughts be known through Twitter and those tweets can have a direct impact on the economy and interest rates, according to Clever Real Estate.

Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman who broke the back of U.S. inflation in the 1980s and three decades later led President Barack Obama’s bid to rein in the investment risk-taking of commercial banks, has died.

Mortgage-bond investors will need to absorb about 26% more agency MBS supply in 2020 as both home sales and prices continue to climb, according to the average estimate of six of Wall Street's biggest dealers.

In recent months federal regulators have been speaking out on the risks that extreme weather events pose to the financial system, something their European counterparts have been doing for some time.

The financial policy views of progressive candidates atop the presidential field are sure to worry bankers, but it would be difficult for any new president to implement sweeping regulatory changes.