Republicans on Capitol Hill might be laying the groundwork for legislation that could scale back the application of the disparate impact theory of legal liability in mortgage lending. Currently, there is no active legislation to that effect pending in the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate, and industry lobbyists said there is no such interest underfoot. But just the fact that the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing this week on disparate impact in general had some Democrat supporters of the theory a bit anxious. “My hope is...

With refinance volume falling and minimum net-worth requirements heading north, advisors in the mergers-and-acquisitions market say undercapitalized firms should sell now, while they still can. Larry Charbonneau, a principal of Charbonneau & Associates of Texas, said he is currently working on four deals but noted that, “There a lot of shops out there with less than $5 million in capital that need to do something but haven’t realized it yet.” Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have net-worth minimums in the $3 million range, there is...

Industry stakeholders called upon lawmakers to delay the implementation of hefty increases in flood-insurance premiums as a result of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Act of 2012. However, support among lawmakers for delaying the mandated changes appear to be weak. In a hearing this week in the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, Republicans and Democrats apparently were unswayed by community advocates, academics, the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders regarding the financial pain being inflicted by the Biggert-Waters Act on homeowners. The sudden, dramatic increase in flood insurance premiums – some by as much as 1,000 percent – are leaving...

The CFPB has come up with a new three-page loan estimate form ("Ficus") that must be given to borrowers within three business days after they submit a loan application.

Wells Fargo once again ranked first among issuers with a market share of 29.6 percent, followed by Chase Home Finance (12.1 percent), and U.S. Bank (3.8 percent).

Analysts commenting on the settlement note that while JPM did not admit any violations of law, it acknowledged in a “statement of facts” section that employees did not comply with company underwriting guidelines and representations.

Fannie Mae estimated that it incurred losses from short sales of the 10,310 non-owner occupied properties for 2012 totaling some $953.5 million.

The purchase mortgage share of originations is expected to increase significantly, from 30 percent in 2012 to 79 percent in 2015, according to Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac projects that interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will hit 5.00 percent by the end of 2014, with little impact on affordability.

Speaking at a housing finance forum sponsored by the Urban Institute and CoreLogic, Gene Sperling, a White House economic advisor, said the Obama Administration believes the “risks are simply too great and that this would recreate the problems of the past.”