Borrowers looking to convert home equity into cash could lean toward cash-out refinances rather than home-equity loans due to changes in the newly enacted tax bill.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General said the recent uptick in the purchase of adjustable rate mortgages by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, especially since November 2016, bears watching as a potential emerging risk.

Members of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit convened early this week to consider legislation that would affect Home Mortgage Disclosure Act enforcement and certain institutions regulated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – mostly smaller players.

A former FHA commissioner called for the restructuring of the agency as a government corporation within the Department of Housing and Urban Development with its own separate appropriation, budget control and risk-management capabilities.

CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney has less than 200 calendar days left to occupy the director’s chair, so industry officials have been wondering what they can expect from the bureau as long as he’s in charge.

Commercial banks and savings institutions reported another decline in the volume of home mortgages they repurchased from investors during the third quarter, according to an Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data.

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing Tuesday to consider legislation that would affect the mortgage industry and institutions regulated by the CFPB.

A planned mortgage-backed security from New Residential Investment received much higher ratings than a similar deal issued by the firm in 2016.

Panelists at an Urban Institute event this week concluded that there can’t be a housing finance reform discussion without including the FHA. Carol Galante, former FHA commissioner during the Obama administration, said it’s important to make sure changes to the government-sponsored enterprises don’t unintentionally impact the FHA.

tressler@imfpubs.com Homeowners and appraisers are closer to seeing eye-to-eye on home valuations than at any time in the last two years, according to new data from Quicken Loans. “Home appraisals were an average of 0.5 percent lower than what owners expected in December,” the lender said, “These two data points have moved closer together since November, when appraised values were 0.67 percent lower than homeowners’ estimates, and far improved from one year ago when there was…