Consumer lending

Despite recriminations about how the crisis and ensuing regulations have tightened loan access, an actual assessment of mortgage credit availability finds the situation is more complicated.

A new credit score that includes consumers' cash flow alongside their credit score is winning praise for its potential to help expand access to credit, but some worry it gives the credit bureaus even more data that could be compromised.

In a move designed to improve access to financial products for consumers with low credit scores and short credit histories, Experian, FICO and Finicity are developing an "UltraFICO" score that lets individuals share checking and savings account data and help lenders better assess risk.

The senior Democratic lawmaker said the CFPB chief and the Trump administration "are doing everything in their power to roll back consumer protections."

After a run-up in the latter half of last year, delinquencies on mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac look fairly stable for the time being.

A new financial technology company called Scratch is planning to use a new web-based platform along with an alternative pricing model to compete with companies that service mortgages and other consumer loans.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rates are likely to continue to decrease for the rest of the year, as new issuances outpace maturing loans and precrisis loans continued to get resolved by special servicers, Fitch Ratings said.

A decade after the credit crisis, investors are returning to where it all began. The mortgage sector, blamed in large part for the near-collapse of the global financial system, is now seen by many as a high-quality market forged by fire.

Caliber Home Loans’ next offering of subprime mortgage bonds includes a new product offered to borrowers with a stronger credit profile than its other programs – but also less equity in their homes.

The dollar volume of private-label residential mortgage-backed securities issuance this year is the highest it has been since the Great Recession, despite a decline in new originations.

Delinquencies for loans securing commercial mortgage-backed securities continued to decline, although they are still well above rates for other types of investors, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The 30-day delinquency rate dropped to a low not seen in over a decade in July, but foreclosure starts also increased to a three-month high.

Several states pledged to compensate for a slowdown in enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Mick Mulvaney, but their efforts have been complicated by tight budgets and doubts over whether such initiatives are necessary.

New investor appetite for mortgages over $1 million is motivating more nonbank lenders to offer super jumbo loans, often with weaker credit terms than traditional banks.

MountainView Financial Solutions is brokering a more than $3 billion package of Fannie Mae and government mortgage servicing rights originated primarily through third-party origination channels.

The investors initially won the right to sue as a group in 2015 before an appeals court reversed the ruling; the $13 billion lawsuit can now proceed as a class action.

The number of consumers being pursued by debt-collection agencies fell dramatically in the past year, but it's as much technicality as achievement, and bankers need to keep that in mind when reviewing the credit scores of millions of Americans.

A ruling involving a Cleveland law firm casts doubt on CFPB claims that attorneys misrepresent their role to consumers.

Debates on the issue often focus on how lending decisions affect certain demographic groups, but those analyses tend to ignore an important factor: default rates.

Servicers and MSR investors face increased regulation and oversight as nearly all states now require some form of licensing for firms responsible for mortgage collections.