Economy

Originators increased program offerings for the fifth consecutive month, but overall credit availability remains tight, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

In talks with OCC officials, "it became obvious that we would not gain near-term approval given their recent experience with multifamily and CRE positions," FirstSun CEO Neal Arnold says. The companies announced other revisions to their deal, too.

Mortgage rates rose 7 basis points this week, Freddie Mac said, and more increases are likely following a weaker than expected gross domestic product report.

Mortgage rates rose this week as investors priced stronger than expected inflation and jobs affecting Fed moves into the 10-year Treasury.

The memorandum creates channels for sharing information about nonbanks between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage, the movements of which have been volatile in recent weeks, is expected to stay in the range of 6.5% for the first half of the year before trending down, Freddie Mac said.

Instability in mortgage rate movements should continue in the weeks ahead, even with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's comments on inflation.

Fannie Mae's latest forecast now predicts rates to be half a percentage point higher, and volume to be $1.5 trillion lower than previously expected in 2024.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate for conforming loans fell, according to Freddie Mac, even as the 10-year Treasury yield rose nearly 18 basis points from the start of this week.

The community development financial institution was the nation's top non-qualified mortgage lender last year, according to one ranking.

The latest inflation news has created concern that the Federal Reserve's pivot on short-term rates could be delayed.

While mortgage volume should rise this year, the government-sponsored enterprise expects slightly less activity than it did back in January.

Investors have hammered the New Jersey-based lender following the turmoil at New York Community Bancorp. But Valley executives say there are key differences between the two real estate-focused banks, and they express confidence that the bank's underwriting will hold up again this cycle.

The deal has a relatively high exposure to commercial and industrial customers. Non-residential ratepayers account for 55% of its customers and about 47% of its revenue.

The public retirement fund, one of the biggest in the US, said four years ago it would review all of its fossil-fuel holdings as it sought to reduce investment risks linked to climate change.

The government-sponsored enterprise financed 955,000 mortgages last year, down from the 1.8 million loans it backed in 2022.

While the Freddie Mac survey reported just a 1 basis point increase from last week, Zillow's tracker found a 30 basis point rise in the 30-year fixed, more reflective of what happened in the bond market.

She cited the increase in interest rates, higher vacancy rates thanks to shifting work patterns triggered by the pandemic and a wave of commercial real estate loans coming due this year.

The share of loans in Arbor's CLOs that failed to make a scheduled payment more than doubled in the fourth quarter, according to preliminary data compiled by Banco Santander SA.

But Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conducted no private-market sales of nonperforming loans early last year as adjustments were made to the program.