Mortgages

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a new report on junk fees and CFPB Director Rohit Chopra spoke at a White House virtual meeting encouraging states to tackle the proliferation of junk fees through legislation.

The new policy will provide more leeway to distressed borrowers, whose ability to get more affordable terms for their loans has been hamstrung by higher rates.

The increase in federally backed loan activity helped drive overall volumes upward for the first time since early February, even as interest rates jumped again, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Reserve chairman took an unexpectedly aggressive posture following last month's step down in the pace of hikes in testimony before Congress on Tuesday,

The share of consumers worried about potential job loss spiked to its highest point in 12 months, leading to a downturn in outlook, according to Fannie Mae.

The announcement came as a Federal Trade Commission suit to halt the deal became more likely.

The new special purpose credit program is part of efforts to reduce the racial gap in homeownership and offers assistance to borrowers who meet certain income and location requirements.

A legal filing could come as soon as Thursday, sources close to the matter claimed.

Even with the government-sponsored enterprise's statement that full appraisals are no longer required to prove value, industry participants say they will remain a tool for lenders to use when needed.

Lenders have focused on front-end cost differences since key secondary market players opened up the option, but what happens when a problem emerges down the road is worth weighing too.

Other factors have become more influential as refinance speeds have fallen to a more than 20-year low, according to Black Knight's Mortgage Monitor report.

A likely recession will only further the six active players' conservatism in their capital strategies, Fitch Ratings said.

The CFPB is requesting input on adding specifications that are intended to alleviate TRID compliance concerns on construction-to-permanent single-close loans and those requiring separate construction and home loan closings.

Brett Dillenberg oversees six branches previously under the umbrella of LendUS that were acquired by the Ohio-based lender last year.

More than 90% of appraisers are white, and researchers have found that bias leads to lower valuations for homeowners of color. A Flagstar executive said the mortgage-focused bank is "not just going to sit on the sidelines and watch this happen."

Current forbearance volumes have returned to pre-COVID levels among loans held at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a Fed study found.

"The committee is strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2% objective," the Fed said in its semi-annual report to Congress released Friday.

In the four weeks through Feb. 26, the median price for a typical home was $350,246, down 0.6% from the same period a year earlier, the brokerage said Thursday.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency head has said: "The status quo is not acceptable." She could not be more correct.

The proposal is out for comment through May 1, and the initial mortgage lender reaction is that the measure could be helpful with remote work and budgeting.