Mortgage lenders pressing to get compliant with the new data collection and reporting require-ments under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act got a bit of a reprieve, as the Consumer Financial Pro-tection Bureau and the other prudential regulators announced they would take “good-faith efforts” ap-proach to enforcement.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will bolster their 2018 earnings by a combined $3 billion thanks to GOP tax reform legislation signed into law by President Trump in late December, according to calcula-tions from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
Although there appears to be plenty of motivation for reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2018, it remains a herculean legislative effort that will require bipartisan support. Some observers think overhaul of the government-sponsored enterprises this year is closer than it has ever been, while others say political headwinds could make it impossible
In late December, Quicken Loans sold roughly $1 billion worth of corporate debt through a pri-vate placement, agreeing to pay investors an attractive yield of 5.25 percent.
FHA saw many of the policies under the previous administration shelved during the first year of the Trump administration, including a proposal for a 25 basis point reduction in the annual mortgage in-surance premium, while waiting for a new commissioner to head the program.
Better Mortgage, a “digital” lender, is seeing increased demand for purchase mortgages by helping borrowers compete with cash buyers. The lender focuses on appraisal timelines and provide guarantees for earnest-money deposits if a potential borrower’s sale falls through due to financing issues.
Lenders raised concerns in December after updates to the Internal Revenue Service tax verifica-tion service extended processing times for mortgage originations. Industry groups said the IRS didn’t provide enough advance notice about the changes.
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