Competition in FHA lending may get a boost following the easing of reporting requirements for insured depository institutions with $500 million or less in total assets.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has hired Lisa M. Applegate as head of mortgage rule implementation, an official told Inside the CFPB.

Bexil American Mortgage, a company headed by industry veteran John Robbins, finally revealed the name of the mortgage banking firm it agreed to buy a few weeks back: Castle Mortgage of Vestavia Hills, AL.

Before we get to the main event (the ‘Qualified Mortgage’ rule), it’s time to consider the improving fate of Fannie Mae, which is poised to have a few coming quarters of blow-out earnings – which will go directly into the coffers of the U.S. Treasury Department, much to the delight of the newly nominated secretary Jack Lew.

Industry veteran Jon Daurio, who’s trying to raise $250 million to start a new nonprime lender, is hoping to have much of the work tied to his capital raise completed by the end of the first quarter of 2013.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may reconsider certain regulatory exemptions to its servicing rules as they pertain to small servicers, agency counsel Mitchell Hochberg said during an Inside Mortgage Finance webinar late Tuesday afternoon.

Over half the high-cost counties in the U.S. will have new VA loan limits in 2013, according to a new analysis by Inside FHA Lending

Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN, a key member of the Senate Banking Committee, has secured a commitment from Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante to toughen agency rules to put the insurance fund on a sounder financial footing.