The Federal Housing Finance Agency late last month issued two final rules that will give the Federal Home Loan Banks somewhat more flexibility in setting collateral requirements for advances and managing their acquired member assets (AMA). A new AMA rule was necessary because the Dodd-Frank Act requires financial regulators to remove references to ratings, which had been used in setting limits on their AMA programs, most of which involve purchases of mortgages from member institutions. Under the new rule, the FHLBanks will be able to choose their own models to determine credit enhancement requirements. The FHFA also deferred...

Walter CEO Tony Renzi said the sale of the insurance affiliate will “reduce the complexity of our business operations..."

Citadel now has offices in California, Georgia, Oregon and plans to open an underwriting and transaction location in Salt Lake City soon.

Will the leaked memo lead to confirmation problems for Mnuchin, a Goldman Sachs and Wall Street alumni? Probably not...

As 2016 drew to a close, various industry officials were busy making the case for legislation that would alter the structure of the CFPB and clip its wings as part of a strategy to scale back the Dodd-Frank Act and provide lenders with significant regulatory relief. Industry officials are confident they will encounter a more sympathetic White House with Donald Trump as the occupant. Analysts with Compass Point Research & Trading believe a number of important issues will be addressed as part of the final legislative regulatory relief package, including governance changes shifting the CFPB, as well as the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, into commission structures. They also expect to see ...

Mortgage-related issues will be a big component of the CFPB’s fair lending priorities for 2017, the bureau indicated in an online blog post late last year. Among the issues for the mortgage industry are redlining and servicing. “While the bureau has taken important strides in our efforts to protect consumers from credit discrimination and broaden access to credit, we continue to identify new and emerging fair lending risks and we will monitor institutions for compliance,” said Patrice Ficklin, associate director of the CFPB’s Office of Fair Lending. Going forward, then, the bureau is increasing its focus in three key areas, the first of which is redlining. “We will continue to evaluate whether lenders have intentionally avoided lending in minority neighborhoods,” ...

When the housing recession was in its early years, negative equity was most pronounced in a handful of Southwestern and Southeastern markets...

With rates rising (and staying that way, for now) mortgage M&A is expected to pick up steam in the coming months...

But if you think that Wells Fargo will pull a “BofA” and quietly downshift its presence in mortgages, think again.

PHH said it will subservice the loans for New Residential "for an initial period of three years, subject to certain termination provisions."