Much of the decline in income was tied to the fair value of investment securities as interest rates on mortgages increased during the quarter and spreads widened somewhat.

Scott Bessent's nomination for secretary of the Treasury Department was approved on a 68-29 vote.

A former GSE regulator said if the new administration isn’t willing to reduce FHA premiums, it should reset expectations for the capital ratio of the MMIF.

Housing Secretary nominee Scott Turner offered few specifics during his confirmation hearing last week. But he outlined plans to review agency programs and maximize their budgets.

With a new federal administration in charge, the MBA renewed its calls for reductions to FHA premiums. However, the Trump administration is unlikely to cut premiums.

The new policies were established days before the end of the Biden administration and won’t take effect until February 2026. The policies won praise from industry trade groups.

VA origination fees will stay at elevated levels through mid-2034 rather than coming down near the end of 2031. The extension was prompted by a bill that passed Congress with broad bipartisan support.

HUD gets acting secretary; FHA revises qualification requirements for single-family nonprofit program; exemption from hiring freeze excludes VA’s home loans program.

Deliveries to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of mortgages with private MI more than quadrupled from the third quarter, hitting $6.58 billion in the fourth quarter.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, the ranking member of the committee, said she was prepared to vote in favor of Turner’s nomination but first wanted to see results from a pending background check on the nominee by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.