Mortgages

The Atlanta company, which reported fourth-quarter results Tuesday, said that the lending partnership with American Express will launch in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Dallas within the next 60 days.

The secretary of housing and urban development plans to "finish out this term" but wants to return to "the private sector because I think you have just as much influence, maybe more."

Following a congressional mandate, the consumer bureau solicited public feedback on Property Assessed Clean Energy loans, which have been deemed risky by the Federal Housing Administration.

The Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors and 26 other groups warned the agency not to pursue steps reducing the scope of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that could upset the mortgage market.

Arch Capital’s next offering of credit risk transfer notes features heavy exposure to residential mortgages that have been modified by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Figure, the startup headed by Mike Cagney, uses blockchain technology to provide home equity loans in as little as five days. It intends to use the newly raised funds to offer other services, including wealth management.

Credit risk transfer does more than just reduce exposure to a downturn in the housing market. It also provides them with information about how others view mortgage credit risk.

Since most U.S. securities transactions are subject to New York law, it could be expedient to pass legislation defining Libor as SOFR plus a spread, says David Bowman, special adviser to the Fed.

Without the ability to issue unsecured debt nearly as cheaply as U.S. Treasury bonds, Freddie Mac could not afford to repurchase defaulted loans from MBS, Freddie CEO Don Layton said.

Expect even more actively managed CRE CLOs to be issued this year as investors get more comfortable with the idea of managers using proceeds from the repayment of collateral to acquire new bridge loan.

Fewer mortgage borrowers are falling behind on their payments, and consumers' broader borrowing habits indicate an increased willingness to turn to nontraditional sources like fintechs for their lending needs, according to TransUnion.

The company disclosed that it paid $146 million for servicing rights associated with $13 billion in mortgages.

New Residential priced its second stock offering in four months, looking for gross proceeds of nearly $665 million.

While student, auto and credit card balances are at or near record levels, housing debt is shrinking, credit quality is weakening a bit and lending standards, at least in some sectors, are tightening.

The state's tougher oversight has stripped Property Assessed Clean Energy of its go-to project financing status among contractors. That shift may result in adverse selection.

HomeStreet Bank will attempt to sell its stand-alone mortgage business and portfolio of servicing rights, a move that comes amid growing pressure from an activist investor to exit home lending and concerns about declining demand and regulatory challenges.

Industry observers will be closely monitoring Mark Calabria's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday for hints about how the Trump administration plans to proceed on mortgage finance reform.

Late payments on loans backing commercial mortgage bonds continued falling at the start of the year, due to strong new issuance volume and continued resolutions for precrisis loans by special servicers, according to Fitch Ratings.

Och-Ziff Capital is suing BNY Mellon, as trustee, to compel it to calculate interest in a way that is more favorable to the class of securities it holds.

Recent developments give the impression that the administration and lawmakers are in direct competition, but the ultimate framework may rely on coordination from both branches of government.