Banking

Consumers are booking rooms at levels not seen since early 2020 and loan delinquencies have fallen sharply as a result. Still, business travel remains sluggish and new COVID variants are spreading, threatening the hotel industry’s recovery.

Identifying where payment stress is concentrated could help mortgage servicers and federal policymakers prepare for the broader range of loan workouts that will resume this summer.

It will be several years before business and group travel return to normal levels, according to an estimate from the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

Rebounding employment brought total forborne mortgages under 2 million, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The lack of a stabilizing force in the commercial real estate mortgage business is creating one of the most significant threats the lending industry faces, writes the CEO of Cirrus.

The number of grievances about evictions and federal student loans declined between January 2020 and May 2021. Nonetheless, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned financial firms that poor customer service can undermine government efforts to provide aid.

Private mortgage insurers can continue to hold less capital for forborne delinquent loans, which helps them potentially upstream payments to parent companies in the third and fourth quarters.

Even as lockdowns ease, the trend toward remote work poses challenges for building owners and the banks that lend to them.

Democrats are pushing for a public-sector alternative to the three main credit bureaus, but Republicans argue that the government is ill-equipped to safely handle consumer data and produce accurate reports.

Fears of a permanent exodus from office life may have been premature, according to a study that finds a majority of businesses plan changes, but no significant downsizing of space.

The owner of former Sears stores is looking to sell as many as 50 properties as it tries to generate cash and focus on the development of other sites it owns.

The numbers, which include payments suspended for pandemic-related hardships, could be a consideration in the possible further extension of moratoria federal regulators are close to making a call on.

Growing CRE mortgage volumes raised the bar for the coming year despite lingering concerns, according to the CRE Finance Council.

The strength of the housing market helped to increase forbearance exits while minimizing new requests, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The new calculation of borrowers’ monthly obligations will allow for a higher debt load from tuition, potentially opening eligibility to more Black applicants, according to public officials.

About 20% of the pandemic-related delinquent borrowers are up for review by the end of June, which could lead to vast improvement or deeper financial strife, according to Black Knight.

The lender's founder and CEO says the acquisition of Roscoe State Bank will give it new products and referral sources.

Fears of widespread credit losses have largely subsided, but demand for new commercial real estate loans remains lackluster because many companies are sitting on so much cash they don’t need to borrow. Meanwhile, competition from private equity groups and other nonbank lenders is escalating.

Mortgage lenders should develop a comprehensive program to identify potential risks of noncompliance with consumer protection rules and take corrective actions before the Biden-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau comes calling.

Meanwhile, National MI has been increasing its new insurance written by slightly widening its credit standards.