Loans to communities ranked with a high social vulnerability index made up roughly 22% of Rural Housing Service-guaranteed single-family home loans in the fourth quarter of 2023. (Includes data table.)

Rep. Member Maxine Waters, D-CA, urged Congress to pass the housing package that had been part of an earlier session’s Build Back Better bill; MISMO launches working group for federal housing agency dataset to support servicers; VA updates COVID-19-era loss-mitigation support; VA extends rescission date for assisted appraisal processing program; USDA raises appraisal fee for direct loans; USDA announces limited waiver for SFHGL servicers.

After reporting losses in its agency portfolio in the fourth quarter, Annaly plans to boost its non-agency loan volume.

The lender’s new wholesale lending program will be led by Thomas Yoon, who has more than 18 years of non-QM industry experience.

Legislation to increase transparency in the CDFI Fund comes following reported issues with fund staffing and the new CDFI certification application process.

Expanded-credit securitization is heating up and prime non-agency MBS issuers are also active.

A&D Mortgage highlighted the advantages of bank statement loan products during a recent webinar.

The Maxex mortgage platform will now connect originators with non-agency buyers of agency-eligible mortgages for investment properties and second homes.

Investors greeted “at-the-market” equity offerings by REITs fairly well last year. One analyst described the activity as “defensive” capital raises that strengthen the balance sheet.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a former research strategist at UBS in a whistleblower protection case under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The ruling has an impact on employee protections well beyond UBS.