Industry Groups Urge Congressional Leaders to Pass ‘Tax Extenders’ Legislation. Three industry groups called upon House and Senate leaders to pass “tax extenders” legislation, including two critical tax provisions that are scheduled to expire at the end of 2016. In a joint letter this week, the Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders called for the “rapid enactment” of a broad “tax extenders” package, including mortgage-debt forgiveness and tax deduction for mortgage insurance premiums. Passing a legislative package of tax extenders that includes the two provisions would provide much-needed certainty to the residential real estate markets, the letter said. Federal Agencies Propose Rule to Expand Access to Private Flood Insurance. Federal banking and credit union regulators and the Farm Credit Administration have published a ...
Most of the lift in third-quarter mortgage originations came from the tail end of the refinance boom, especially in the agency market, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. The government-insured market saw a hefty 21.4 percent jump in mortgage originations from the second to the third quarter as the sector reached an estimated $159.0 billion and accounted for 27.4 percent of total first-lien production. It was the second consecutive record quarter for FHA, VA and Department of Agriculture rural-housing production. The conventional-conforming segment was not far behind...[Includes two data tables]
Inside-the-Beltway analysts are predicting that financial regulation and new agency leadership posts will be a primary battleground in the incoming Trump administration. The Bipartisan Policy Center said nominating and confirming people to fill seats on financial regulatory agencies, and at the Treasury, will likely be the most important moves made by the new president and Congress. President-elect Trump wants...
Returning appraisal regulations back to the individual states would be counterproductive, according to James Park, executive director of the Appraisal Subcommittee of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. Park and other experts spoke about the need for standardization and modernization at a hearing in the House Financial Services Committee this week. “Replacing the federal system with a state-based system would confuse, not streamline,” he said, noting that the “cornucopia” of statutes and guidelines are confusing and burdensome for everyone. Bill Garber, director of government and external relations at the Appraisal Institute, agreed...
It’s safe to say that many mortgage CEOs and their attorneys are cheering on Quicken. It’s not often that a lender fights back this strong against the government in an FHA.