Economy

President Biden removed Mark Calabria as Federal Housing Finance Agency director hours after a Supreme Court ruling made the move possible. The administration is expected to offer up a nominee who will prioritize affordable housing and racial equity in housing instead of reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The fintech specializes in lending to dentists, veterinarians and other solo providers looking to grow or establish their own practice.

Cannabis, though still illegal at the federal level, continues to inch into the financial mainstream. Small credit unions and lenders as large as Valley National and East West have moved beyond just taking deposits from marijuana companies.

The housing starts and permit data suggest the pace of residential construction may be moderating after a recent run-up in building-materials costs.

More than two-thirds surveyed said they expect to make less money over the next three months as price reductions ramp up along with a market shift to purchases.

Most of the coal plants that feed the biggest U.S. power grid will soon no longer be economic to run after prices in a key auction plunged to the lowest in 11 years.

The deal for the Salt Lake City-based home improvement lender, which Home Depot tried to acquire more than a decade ago, is part of a larger effort by Regions Financial to diversify its home lending business.

For two decades, Alfred Pollard served as the general counsel for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator. He had a front-row seat for the establishment of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government’s subsequent seizure of the mortgage giants amid mounting losses in 2008 and the more recent legal dispute over the FHFA’s authority.

DeVito takes over on June 1, replacing interim CEO Mark Grier, who returns to his seat on the government-sponsored agency's board.

The deal is the second securitized transaction floated under recent California state legislation authorizing a flurry of utility securitizations.

Deals, trends and research in structured finance and asset-backed securities for the week of May 14-20

During a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Democrats largely praised the policy decisions of acting regulators named by the Biden administration and knocked their predecessors. But Republicans warned that moves to reverse Trump-era policies would leave financial institutions without a clear road map.

Issuance of capital market instruments aimed at protecting one government-sponsored enterprise from distressed mortgage credit events staged a relatively quick rebound in 2020, a new Federal Housing Finance Agency report shows.

With little transitional disruption, the bigger players on the non-agency side could gain a hefty share of non-owner-occupied mortgage volume as a result of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s caps on such purchases, a KBRA analysis finds.

Analysts at HSBC Holdings PLC reported last month that 82% of employees globally say they’d like to work remotely at least one day a week in the future, citing Colliers International data. A separate CBRE survey showed a plurality seeking two to three days a week.

Some worry the Senate’s rejection of the OCC rule hampers efforts to clarify legal standards for banks selling loans to fintechs.

Three Republicans joined Senate Democrats in voting to overturn a rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that makes it easier for national banks to sell loans to nonbanks. A companion resolution has been introduced in the House.

It’s getting easier to close bigger loans for higher-priced properties, but credit is expanding slower for first-time buyers.

Fannie and Freddie's regulator says the companies must comply with the new Qualified Mortgage standard by the summer, while the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has extended the deadline to 2022. The conflicting timetables have stoked uncertainty in the market.

According to Moody’s Investors Service, nearly 73% of the 33-obligor pool for ACRES Commercial Realty 2021-FL1 are apartment buildings that lack current revenue streams due to property rehabilitation efforts or being under transition.