Risk management

Many lenders are still reluctant to give mortgages to borrowers with less-than-pristine credit, yet such loans are far more likely than prime jumbo loans to be bundled into collateral bonds. Sreeni Prabhu of Angel Oak Capital credits banks' behavior and higher interest rates for that reality.

Equifax and TransUnion have stopped selling traditional credit reports, forcing lenders to buy their new, more expensive "trended" data reports that mortgage investors aren't using yet.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking to make it easier for Federal Home Loan Banks to accept certain kinds of collateral for advances.

The Federal Housing Administration should look to private mortgage insurance companies as a model for how to standardize the claim review process.

The first commercial mortgage-backed security to comply with "skin in the game" requirements was extremely well received. Market participants credit the way the large banks sponsoring the deal retained the risk – a strategy unavailable to nonbank lenders.

The U.K. government will redeem 3 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) of bonds backed by mortgages from rescued lender Bradford & Bingley, paving the way for a potential sale of the loans.

The impressive loan growth in the second quarter is surprising in an economy that grew by 1.2% in the second quarter and by only 0.8% in the first quarter.

Arch U.S. MI's acquisition of United Guaranty Corp. will make one of the smallest private mortgage insurers the sector's new market leader. While the move is likely to ease pricing competition among the six remaining players, it's not expected to set off a wave of further consolidation.

Enforcement actions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against companies are well-known, but compliance starts with individuals.

Servicers got what they asked for when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau limited the specificity of certain requirements in its final servicing rule. Now they may regret it.