Originations

As the Justice Department winds down its Mortgage Fraud Task Force and a new administration prepares to enter the White House, the number of False Claims Act cases brought against Federal Housing Administration lenders is expected to dwindle.

Refinance activity rose as a share of overall closed loans in October, according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report.

Confidence among homebuilders in November remained near the highest level this year, a sign of strength in the residential real estate market.

Mortgage applications slumped last week after the sharpest increase in borrowing costs since mid-2013, signaling tougher sledding for the housing market.

Five credit unions in three states have partnered with myCUmortgage, a provider of outsourced origination and servicing programs.

Shellpoint Partners is preparing its first private-label mortgage securitization in over a year, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency.

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.

The spike in borrowing costs in response to President-elect Donald Trump's pro-growth agenda is causing some heartburn in America's housing industry.

The number of mortgage applications for new home purchases increased in October, along with the average loan size, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren delivered a blunt message to fellow Democrats not to make any deals when it comes to restructuring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But whether the progressive Democrat can hold the line with her colleagues or stave off Republican attempts to rejigger the agency using filibuster reform remains to be seen.

Experian, like fellow credit bureaus TransUnion and Equifax, is now offering trended credit reports to lenders that originate single-family loans.

Regulatory costs may be warranted, but neither Congress nor the executive branch assessed the cost of the Dodd-Frank Act before its enactment.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's contentious rulemakings on arbitration and payday lending may be in jeopardy with the change in administrations and continued GOP control of Congress.

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.

Steven Mnuchin is widely viewed as a top pick for Treasury secretary in the Trump administration. A Goldman Sachs alum, he is known as a successful change agent for his roles in the transformation of the failed IndyMac into OneWest and the revamping of CIT, but some community reinvestment advocates remain critical of him.

President-elect Donald Trump's victory poses a unique quandary for the Federal Reserve both before and after he is sworn in — whether the central bank should attempt to finish the many rules still in process or keep its head down to avoid provoking a hostile Congress.

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Nov. 11.