Banks and thrifts increased their holdings of first-lien residential mortgages in 2018, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. [Includes one data chart.]

The two-day hearing this week on an outline for housing-finance reform offered participants in the non-agency market an opportunity to call for legislative reform in the sector.

The correspondent channel expanded its share of jumbo originations in 2018, according to an Inside Nonconforming Markets analysis of survey responses to affiliated Inside Mortgage Finance. [Includes one data chart.]

Trade Group Seeks LO Compensation Rule Change; MBA Releases New Paper on CFPB Reforms; CFPB Issues Annual Debt Collection Report; Trump’s 2020 Budget Puts CFPB Under Congressional Appropriations,

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last week fined Citibank $25 million for violating the Fair Housing Act by failing to offer preferential rates to some borrowers based on their race, color, national origin or sex.

The Mortgage Bankers Association, the Maryland Bankers Association and the Maryland Mortgage Bankers & Brokers Association are opposing proposed legislation in Maryland that would require a trust to be licensed as a debt collection agency to foreclose on a loan.

The CFPB in a recent court filing defended its constitutionality and said even if its structure is unconstitutional there is a better solution than invalidating the agency in entirety.

More than two dozen Democratic state attorneys general have threatened to sue if the CFPB delays the compliance date for the payday lending rule or goes ahead with its proposal to rescind the rule’s underwriting protection.

CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger last week reversed another policy decision made by former acting Director Mick Mulvaney: the bureau will enhance its advisory boards by increasing the frequency of committee meetings and extending membership terms.

In the latest installment of its “prevention of harm” philosophy, the CFPB criticized servicers for their handling of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages but failed to levy penalties, according to the bureau’s recent supervisory highlights report.