Banking

Adjustable-rate mortgages in November had their highest share of closed loans since Ellie Mae started tracking this data in 2011 as rates for 30-year loans reached 5.15%.

A proposal issued over a year ago by federal banking agencies to simplify risk-based capital rules and ease compliance burdens for community banks has still not been finalized, and mortgage brokers and bankers are calling on them to do just that.

Richard Harra was also fined $300,000 for painting a false picture of the bank’s financial health at the height of the financial crisis.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has proposed barring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from using credit scores developed by VantageScore over concern about conflicts of interest with the joint venture of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

An agency report said servicing portfolios have shrunk by nearly half in 10 years as much of the mortgage market has shifted to nonbanks.

The newly sworn-in director’s first public remarks seemed to contrast with the approach of her predecessor, Mick Mulvaney, who at times questioned the role of the agency.

Executives urged the consumer bureau at a public meeting to keep a closer eye on artificial intelligence innovations developed by fintech firms that are subject to less regulation.

Merchants has agreed to buy NattyMac, a company it has been in business with since 2014.

Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee are expected to shine a spotlight on Trump-appointed regulators, but that light might shine brightest on one agency in particular.

Growing home prices and climbing interest rates didn't stop millennials from buying houses in October, Ellie Mae said.