Wed, Jun 14 2017, 8:59 AM
Depository banks are in the business to lend, and are now concerned about commercial lending. What do Cleveland, Memphis, and Chicago have in common? ...
Tue, May 23 2017, 3:53 PM
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its proposed 2018 budget on Tuesday, saying it will continue to provide rental ass...
Mon, May 22 2017, 8:53 AM
I recently heard a CEO say, “I am fine competing on product, price, and service. But we shouldn’t have to compete on subjective interpretations of rul...
Mon, May 15 2017, 8:56 AM
Economists, like royal children are not punished for their errors. Data revision can be a career strategy for some, and certainly some companies wish ...
Wed, Apr 19 2017, 9:16 AM
The English language is always changing. For example, when did “blackstone” become a verb, as in, “I was ‘blackstoned’ last week and will start collec...
Fri, Apr 7 2017, 9:55 AM
If you think mortgage regulations are running amok, as part of the Affordable Care Act, restaurants with 20 or more locations will soon have to post s...
Wed, Mar 29 2017, 9:47 AM
Back in December the Urban Institute (UI) put a number on the much maligned but somewhat amorphous term "tight credit." It maintained that, between 20...
Fri, Mar 17 2017, 10:31 AM
FHA's mortgage share, which surged following the housing crisis and helped shore up the market, is now in a steady decline. However, the loans written...
Fri, Mar 10 2017, 9:36 AM
The last time I checked Americans enjoy living indoors, especially given storms like today’s in the Northeast. How’s this for a combination of edifice...
Mon, Feb 27 2017, 10:03 AM
If you’re a lender in only one state, just think about the state and federal regulations you must deal with, not to mention the investor or agency rul...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 10:31 AM
In lender and regulator news, SoFi (Social Finance) is reportedly close to raising $500 million in fresh funds from an investor group led by Silver La...
Thu, Feb 16 2017, 9:38 AM
Bank of America has opened 3 completely automated branches without any employees. Customers can use ATMs or have video conferences with employees at o...
Mon, Jan 23 2017, 9:31 AM
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those that lost their lives in storms in the South and East. On the other coast, Los Angeles has re...
Fri, Jan 20 2017, 3:02 PM
As was being widely rumored yesterday, the newly installed Trump Administration has indefinitely suspended a scheduled reduction in the annual premium...
Thu, Jan 19 2017, 12:19 PM
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) nominee Ben Carson said at his confirmation hearing, "Certainly, if confirmed, I am going to work wit...
Thu, Jan 19 2017, 9:25 AM
How has housing changed in the last 100 years? It’s easy to see when a “vertical flight” is put together, and Trulia posted current listings that were...
Wed, Jan 18 2017, 8:19 AM
Mortgage applications rose on a seasonally adjusted annual basis during the week ended January 13. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Co...
Fri, Jan 13 2017, 11:33 AM
The surprise reduction in FHA annual premiums announced last week by the current Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may not survive long...
Wed, Jan 11 2017, 9:24 AM
While rumors swirl about the topic for the phone call with Stearns Lending’s correspondent-wide staff today (let’s hope its good news), Richard Cordra...
Tue, Jan 10 2017, 9:17 AM
What does $1.38 million, uh, I mean $138 thousand, buy you in South Dakota ? (Of course the heating bill is $3,000 a month...) Buying it may be a litt...
Mon, Jan 9 2017, 11:24 AM
The annual premium paid by borrowers on mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is going down by a quarter of a percent. Housing ...
Wed, Jan 4 2017, 9:19 AM
Any LO looking for opportunity should look no further than this statistic: there were 189,100 multifamily rental units completed between the fourth qu...
Fri, Dec 30 2016, 9:15 AM
Overheard: “I have a feeling that my ‘check liver’ light may come on this weekend.” I guess drinking helps some people forget, and it’s been a rough w...
Tue, Dec 20 2016, 11:32 AM
Back in July, President Obama signed HR3700 The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016. The law makes a number of changes in existing h...
Mon, Dec 19 2016, 9:07 AM
The cold temperatures sweeping the nation, especially in the Upper Plains, have plenty of folks wondering how Native Americans kept warm during the wi...
Tue, Dec 6 2016, 9:27 AM
Many years ago, it was a joke in Britain to say that, “the War Office was always preparing for the last war.” To their credit, regulators now often tr...
Fri, Dec 2 2016, 9:27 AM
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has now joined the Federal Housing Finance Agency in raising the dollar limits for loans that qualify for FHA...
Fri, Dec 2 2016, 9:24 AM
Plenty of people are on the roads in December, traveling for the holidays. Ever curious about the basic differences between a road, a street, a boulev...
Tue, Nov 22 2016, 9:53 AM
Another day, another settlement. Ally Financial Inc said it agreed to pay $52 million to settle claims made by the U.S. Department of Justice against ...
Wed, Nov 16 2016, 10:55 AM
Baby Boomers like lists and rankings. Here is one that I ran across: the 50 highest paying professions not needing a college degree. There are a coupl...
Tue, Nov 15 2016, 10:43 AM
For me this week and last includes time in Knoxville, Las Vegas, Portland, Northern California, Colorado, and Salt Lake City. The mood? Besides plenty...
Wed, Nov 2 2016, 10:14 AM
It's a global mortgage market, and this news tidbit caught my eye - reminding us that "a rising tide floats all boats." Virgin Money's Q3 IMS shows co...
Wed, Oct 26 2016, 9:42 AM
It is well documented that “women spend more time wondering what men are thinking than men spend thinking.” Lemon Drops move over! (For those of you w...
Thu, Oct 20 2016, 10:13 AM
Flying to Boston for the MBA’s conference? Here’s a view you won't see. But probably a more important question is, "Is your cyber secure?" The FFIEC j...
Wed, Sep 28 2016, 9:30 AM
What do attorneys and judges think of compliance? Here's a nice write up , but it is important that incentives match your company's compliance goals, ...
Fri, Sep 16 2016, 9:52 AM
In last month's Housing Finance Chartbook the Urban Institute showed how a recent surge in issuance of private mortgage insurance (PMI) had come at th...
Fri, Sep 16 2016, 9:47 AM
Free data is available on nearly 95% of mortgage originations nationwide thanks to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). While the raw data is avai...
Tue, Aug 30 2016, 9:57 AM
I asked my cat Myrtle for her comments on the proposed TRID changes. (Blank stare.“Myrtle, make up your mind – in or out!”) I did, however, receive th...
Fri, Aug 26 2016, 9:08 AM
Among the charts and tests summarizing most of the housing finance news that emerged during July, the latest issue of the Urban Institute's (UI's) Hou...
Tue, Jul 26 2016, 9:13 AM
The capital markets are always changing, and the latest news to turn some heads is that JPMorgan Chase is streamlining its operations and will no lon...
Wed, Jul 20 2016, 10:22 AM
Remember when someone was "fired" instead of "managed out?" Then there's a good old-fashioned purge like what Turkish President Erdogan did yesterday ...
Mon, Jul 18 2016, 10:45 AM
Rates have crept back up to pre-Brexit levels. Will the rates borrowers locked in during the last week of June be the stuff of cocktail party bragging...
Tue, Jul 5 2016, 10:13 AM
Last week we noticed that Ginnie Mae volumes had passed Freddie Mac , so the absence of big banks doing that business was certainly taken up by non...
Fri, Jul 1 2016, 11:28 AM
Investors who purchase distressed loans through the FHA's Distressed Asset Stabilization Program (DASP) are going to have to toe a stricter line w...
Mon, Jun 20 2016, 10:40 AM
To start off the week, besides the first full moon on a summer solstice since 1967, here’s an interesting Bloomberg chart about the Federal governme...
Tue, May 31 2016, 10:17 AM
Research by the EBRI on retirement finds while 67% of workers plan to work for pay in retirement, only 27% of retirees do so. Of the retirees who work...
Wed, May 18 2016, 7:56 AM
Here in New York the airplanes will be filled with capital markets staff and CEOs heading home from the MBA’s conference. More observations tomorrow.....
Wed, Apr 27 2016, 9:49 AM
The “Tiny Home” movement is interesting, but 84 square feet ? That is enough to store my Hot Wheels, Match Box, and slot car collections. Am I thinki...
Mon, Apr 11 2016, 10:46 AM
Reuters is reporting that Wells Fargo & Co has agreed to pay a record $1.2 billion to resolve a dispute with the Justice Department over mortgages i...
Mon, Apr 11 2016, 9:54 AM
Last week I was in Coeur d’Alene (for Banner Bank’s sales staff celebrating a great 2015) and I was reminded that tomorrow is “Free Cone Day” at Ben &...
