Secondary

The gulf between those at the upper ends of the wealth ladder and lower-income Americans has worsened markedly since the financial crisis, despite the trillions of subsidies that taxpayers provide for housing.

Freddie Mac has gotten the green light for its appraisal alternative for purchase loans, and has released information about how similar automated collateral evaluations for refinances have performed.

The Home Affordable Refinance Program will now expire on Dec. 31, 2018, the FHFA said.

Walter Investment Management Corp. is in danger of having its stock delisted from the New York Stock Exchange as its average market capitalization remains below required minimums.

A $507.6 million first mortgage on the Hotel del Coronado, a 130-year-old landmark with 1,400 linear feet of direct ocean frontage, is being securitized in BBCMS 2017-DELC. Barclays is the loan seller.

MFA Financial Inc. co-CEO William Gorin died Aug. 10 after a long illness. He was 59.

Redwood Trust is raising $225 million in a debt offering with the proceeds to be used to repay borrowings that come due next year.

Critics of recent False Claims Act enforcement argue the Justice Department is too heavy-handed toward lenders and servicers. But in an industry reputed for shoddy processes during the crisis, perhaps stringent oversight is warranted.

For all the talk that Janet Yellen’s plan to shrink the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet will hurt Treasuries, U.S. mortgage bonds face a bigger test.

Picking a new benchmark for adjustable-rate mortgages is the easy part. Industrywide implementation is where things get tricky.