Consumer lending

The median credit score for new mortgages and refinancings climbed to 786 during the third quarter, its highest level in more than two decades, according to a report from the New York Fed.

The Federal Housing Administration said in its annual actuarial report that the capital reserve ratio on its mutual mortgage insurance fund increased to 6.10% in fiscal year 2020, up from 4.84% a year earlier.

More than six months after the CARES Act became law, the two entities joined a host of industry organizations in launching the COVID Help for Home campaign to educate borrowers on the next steps in forbearance.

The overall mortgage delinquency rate improved in the third quarter as the economy got healthier while late-stage delinquencies hit a decade high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

JPMorgan Chase is going on the “offensive” in mortgages as home prices rise across the country, said Marianne Lake, the bank’s chief executive for consumer lending.

Under 2.9 million borrowers sit in coronavirus-related forbearance as GSE-backed mortgages drove the latest decrease, according to Black Knight.

Meanwhile, the delinquency rate is up 89% year-over-year, according to Black Knight.

The agency’s final rule modernizing the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act limits calls to seven per week, but collectors won stronger protections from liability claims and other key changes to the original proposal.

The agency found a 40% error rate in the 2016 data submitted by the Seattle bank. In addition to the fine, the institution is required to improve its compliance systems.

A 2019 decision by Amy Coney Barrett, then a 7th Circuit judge, cited an earlier Supreme Court ruling suggesting a high bar for plaintiffs to claim harm. But other jurists have favored a less onerous standard.

HUD Deputy Secretary Brian Montgomery questioned "whether we could ever totally accept desktop-only appraisals" at the Mortgage Bankers Association conference this week.

As financial distress mounted, 12.4% of mortgagors missed payments across the second and third quarters of 2020 — and it could get worse, according to a study from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

While overall mortgage delinquency rates slowly descend, serious delinquencies — especially loans past 120 days due — jumped in July, according to CoreLogic.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overhaul of its Qualified Mortgage standard is alarming free-market advocates who say it will precipitate a return to easy credit and higher defaults and could disproportionately harm minorities.

But most borrowers who have exited forbearance plans are back on track when it comes to paying, and the incidence of loss mitigation plans is high among those who aren't.

Kathy Kraninger’s job status would be in question if Joe Biden wins the White House. If the president is reelected, she may continue balancing a deregulatory agenda with her unexpectedly tough stance on enforcement.

Over 3.6 million borrowers sit in coronavirus-related forbearance with portfolio and private-label securitized loans driving the week's increase, according to Black Knight.

Through Operation Corrupt Collector, the bureau is coordinating with over 50 other state and federal agencies to target firms for wrongdoing and inform consumers of their rights

The agency reported signs of stress on the credit quality in residential loans serviced by seven large banks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congress should pass legislation that would allow Home Loan banks to backstop deposits by local governments at commercial banks and lower the cost of bond financing, two mayors argue.