Economy

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a proposed rule for the Federal Home Loan Bank System that allows the FHFA director to set "reasonable" board compensation.

The $120 million deal is larger than the inaugural transaction from 2023, and includes expandable notes, plus a 36-month revolving period.

The notes can withstand breakeven default levels of 73.38%, 57.8%, 40.71% and 34.17%, respectively. Those levels surpass the loss multiples of its expected 20.7% in cumulative gross defaults.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's nonbank registry to address repeat corporate offenders goes live this week, but some experts have raised concerns about redundancy and costs for nonbanks.

The conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 6.12% on Oct. 3.

Mortgage rates being at a two-year low has not moved potential buyers off the sidelines, Freddie Mac says, but Redfin says demand for home tours is up.

The Federal Home Loans Bank System is under pressure to fund more affordable housing and has several proposals that may work in tandem with Vice President Kamala Harris' goal of building three million new units in her first term.

Rising property values continue to buffer mortgagors against negative equity situations, Corelogic said.

Apartment buildings, which make up about 40% of the looming maturities, are at the center of the refinancing wave. Many U.S. owners bought their properties using three-year floating rate loans during the easy money era.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell week-to-week by the largest amount since the start of August and are now almost a percentage point lower than a year ago, according to Freddie Mac.

The sale of the $318 million-asset portfolio comes five weeks after the Greenville, South Carolina-based company agreed to sell its investment advisory unit.

Recent rate movements have failed to result in significant purchase growth, but refinances are providing lenders some lift.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage is lingering just shy of 6.5% level, which is not low enough to bring home purchasers back into the market, observers said.

Vice President Kamala Harris outlined a raft of populist economic proposals in her first major economic speech since securing the Democratic presidential nomination, including some aimed at lowering housing costs and boosting supply.

While the total dollar volume of apartment originations fell last year, the number of companies making loans increased from 2022, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Retail properties account for the largest portion, at 23.5%, according to KBRA. Lodging follows, with 22.1% of the pool.

Nearly two-thirds of consumers in a July survey said they expect mortgage rates to decline soon, but most want to see them cross a very specific threshold before they act, Mphasis Digital Risk found.

Democrats Ritchie Torres and Gregory Meeks called on the New York Home Loan bank to follow the lead of its peers and use alternative credit scoring models for collateral to improve consumers' access to homeownership.

The parent company of Fulton Bank announced the creation of three new management roles and promoted existing employees into those jobs. The changes follow the recent hiring of an outsider to be CFO.

Market turmoil is driving the 10-year Treasury yield downward and taking mortgage rates with it, putting more borrowers in the money to refinance, Intercontinental Exchange said.