Policy and Regulation

The effort to raise the threshold for transactions excused from appraisal requirements responds to concerns that the current threshold is outpaced by real estate prices.

Bank jumbo mortgage underwriting standards weakened in the third quarter by the most in three years and as profitability remains under pressure, loosening should continue at an accelerated pace, a Moody's report said.

The Trump administration should consider putting much of the subsidized mortgage lending done by the federal government under the government-sponsored enterprises to improve efficiency and transparency.

Ginnie Mae officials are concerned about unusual activity with Department of Veterans Affairs cash-out refinances and are investigating the causes, as well as whether predatory lenders are taking advantage of veterans.

The revised blueprint by Moelis & Co. LLC incorporates a pending regulatory capital plan for the mortgage giants.

The passage of Proposition 111, which also prohibits lenders from adding origination and monthly maintenance fees, makes Colorado the fifth state to impose caps on payday loans through a voter referendum.

The midterm elections virtually eliminate the chance that progress will be made on financial services legislation.

Although forecasts anticipate a continuing drop in overall originations, private-label residential mortgage-backed securitizations backed by newer loans are expected to keep increasing through next year, according to Bank of America.

“We have actually discouraged banks from innovating,” FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said in announcing a move that other agencies have made.

Despite being barred from the securities industry by the SEC, LendingClub’s founder has found plenty of people to back his latest venture — and that’s a problem.