The subprime auto lending market is stable and the underwriting is strong, but delinquencies are up, according to credit bureau experts speaking at the American Financial Services Association’s vehicle financing conference. The auto financing industry is coming off another record year of sales, according to Chris Stinebert, president and CEO of AFSA. He added that it’s important for credit reporting agencies to set the record straight on the health of the subprime auto finance market. “The fact is...
Should the CFPB fail to convince the court for a rehearing, or win a rehearing but lose the argument at that point, it would unlikely be able to receive the authorization needed from the Trump administration’s Office of Attorney General to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
With the post-election interest-rate rise sticking around, there’s a growing school of thought that residential originators will finally ease underwriting standards in an effort to boost lending volume. But the way things stand today, that could be wishful thinking. The Mortgage Bankers Association told Inside Mortgage Finance this week that its Mortgage Credit Availability Index shows a “gradual” loosening has occurred, but it credits a greater availability of jumbo product for the reading. As MBA Senior Vice President of Research Michael Fratantoni put...
According to the Mayer Brown law firm, “Financial services companies that hoped for immediate regulatory relief when the Trump administration assumed control may have to wait a bit longer…”
The Citadel CEO noted that his shop is receiving many unsolicited resumes from mortgage workers employed at conventional shops, a sign that some firms are about to cut staff.
The new administration of President Trump wasted no time in trying to fulfill his campaign promise to roll back the tide of regulation, issuing on the day of his inauguration a freeze on new and pending regulations from executive agencies of the U.S. government. What effect this will have on mortgage lending regulation is unclear, at this point, but it’s likely to be temporary, industry insiders agree. According to a memo issued by White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, unspecified “executive departments and agencies” were...
Industry groups are calling for better ways to minimize the market disruption that may come in the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to suspend the recent 25-basis-point reduction of the FHA mortgage insurance premium. The suspension of the fee cut was announced Jan. 20 by Genger Charles, general deputy assistant secretary for housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, pending a review by the incoming administration. The pricing change was scheduled to take effect for loans with a closing or disbursement date of Jan. 27 or later. The moratorium has...
Hedge fund manager Pershing Square Capital Management is facing a bit of a dilemma in regard to its huge investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac common stock: take profits off the table now – while it still can – or go for broke, hoping for a huge payout later on. At last check, Pershing – the brainchild of veteran investor Bill Ackman – owned roughly 9.98 percent of Fannie and 9.77 percent of Freddie. It accumulated the shares earlier in the decade at an average price of $2.30 for Fannie and $2.14 for Freddie. Today, Fannie’s common trades...
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has announced a $53 million settlement agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank to resolve alleged discriminatory lending through its wholesale broker channel in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act. Filed last week in Manhattan federal court, the U.S. Attorney’s complaint accused Chase of improperly steering African-American and Hispanic borrowers into certain loan products and charging them higher interest rates and fees than comparable white borrowers between 2006 and 2009. During the period, approximately 360,000 brokered mortgage loans were delivered...