Housing

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's choice to raise conforming loan limits in 2016 for the first time in a decade is being met with enthusiasm from the mortgage industry, as it should prove to be a positive for future origination volume.

The maximum baseline conforming loan limit in 2017 is being increased to $424,100 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Former BB&T Chief Executive John Allison is a late entrant on a short-list for the job of U.S. Treasury secretary, according to two people familiar with President-elect Donald Trump's selection process.

President-elect Donald Trump said in a tweet Tuesday that he is considering Dr. Ben Carson — one of his opponents in the Republican primary — to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

If President-elect Donald Trump selects House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling as his Treasury secretary, it would be a clear sign that he intends to embrace a more traditional Republican agenda when it comes to financial services issues.

The U.S. economy is expected to continue growing modestly in 2017, but the unknown about policies to be enacted by President-elect Donald Trump's administration pose both upside and downside risks, according to Fannie Mae.

John Paulson went long on Donald Trump when much of Wall Street went short. Now, he's reaping the rewards.

Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati has expanded its community development pledge to $30 billion.

Banks already have a difficult time collecting data on mortgage lending to minorities. New data requirements scheduled to take effect in early 2018 could lead to even more mistakes — and financial penalties — not to mention higher compliance costs and longer delays in closing loans.

Two consumer advocacy groups in California have accused CIT Group's OneWest Bank of failing to provide mortgages and other financial services in minority neighborhoods.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling recited a litany of priorities for his panel next year, touching on everything from the very broad, like housing finance reform, to the specific, including targeting a proposal to rein in payday lending.

The Federal Housing Administration's insurance fund saw its fourth consecutive annual boost in its ratio of reserves to insured mortgages, reaching 2.32% in fiscal year 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said Tuesday.

Facebook has disabled so-called ethnic affinity filters from housing, credit and employment advertising following mounting criticism that the practice allowed marketers to discriminate against minorities in violation of fair housing and civil rights laws.

Industry forecasts for 2017 mortgage volume assumed a continuation of current housing and economic policies under a Hillary Clinton administration. But with Donald Trump's win, analysts are sorting out what, if any, adjustments are needed to those projections.

Officials of the National Association of Realtors were ecstatic about the Federal Housing Administration's lower owner-resident requirements for condo loans — until they read the fine print.

None of President-elect Donald Trump's tax reforms target the mortgage interest deduction, according to a member of his economic advisory council.

Even with Republicans controlling both Congress and the White House, it's highly unlikely the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be completely eliminated. However, under the new presidential administration's oversight, many of its more aggressive policies will likely change.

The president-elect faces major questions about credit access, affordable housing, the future of Dodd-Frank and the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the extent to which he will act upon them remains unclear.

Mortgage lobbyists are eager to seize on Republican victories in the House, Senate and White House races, hoping to advance the industry's aims in the next Congress.

The overwhelming majority of candidates supported by the mortgage industry by and large performed well on Election Day, with one notable exception.