News By Edition

Being an economist forecasting the markets these days may be as tough as it’s ever been.

Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan said in an interview with Dodd Frank Update that he would call it “an Olympic challenge.”

Duncan – who will be a featured speaker at the National Settlement Services Summit being held from Sept. 1 to Sept. 3 – sat down to unpack it all for us. Read on for more.

Promontory MortgagePath LLC, a leading provider of comprehensive digital mortgage origination and tech-driven fulfillment solutions, announced that it has hired Jordan Higgins and Kim Joyce as regional vice presidents in the company’s sales division.

LBA Ware, a leading provider of incentive compensation management (ICM) and business intelligence (BI) software solutions for the mortgage industry, has hired veteran fintech executive and data analytics expert Matt Semrad to enhance its BI platform LimeGear with predictive loan production analytics and machine learning.

BSI Financial Services, a mortgage-centric financial services company, announced it has promoted Larry Goldstone to president of capital markets and lending and John Lawrence to president of servicing and lender services.

As loan accommodations related to the pandemic expire and change, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council issued guidance for institutions on risk management and consumer protection principles to follow as they work with borrowers and consider additional accommodations.

The guidance also directed institutions on reporting requirements and internal control systems.

Read on for details from the agencies’ guidance.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairwoman Jelena McWilliams and Ohio Lieutenant Gov. Jon Husted highlighted the Community Bankers Association of Ohio’s 46th annual convention.

For the first time, the convention was conducted virtually, to a reported group of more than 400 community bankers from Ohio and West Virginia.

Read on for highlights from those and other presentations during the show.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a new set of frequently asked questions regarding its recently finalized small-dollar lending rule.

Among the questions addressed is what qualifies as a “business day” in regards to the rule.

Read on for more details from the bureau’s guidance.

The Consumer Bankers Association wrote to federal regulators, asking them to consider Paycheck Protection Program loans as positive considerations under the Community Reinvestment Act.

The letter urges regulators to have examiners have the loans qualify as community development loans without extensive reviews or additional documentation.

Read on for more details from the association’s request.

For the sixth time in seven months, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that new-home purchase applications have increased over the same period a year earlier.

MBA reported that purchase mortgage originations in 2019 were at their highest level since 2006, and overall originations were $2.17 trillion. Yet in 2020, applications for new-home purchases have continued to outpace 2019.

Read on for details and reaction on the latest MBA report.

A new fee on refinances bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac beginning Sept. 1 has stirred up a hornet’s nest of opposition.

That includes pushback from mortgage, banking and credit union associations, as well as from the White House itself.

Read on for more details.

Fannie Mae issued a pair of its single-family green mortgage-backed security (MBS) transactions in July, its latest step forward in green MBS issuances which its single-family unit began in April.

Senior Vice President-Capital Markets Renee Schultz and Vice President-Enterprise ESG Chrissa Pagitsas talked with Dodd Frank Update about the program and its benefits to investors and to green building in the single-family space.

Read on for more details about the program and its early success.

As small businesses around the country go through a “hurry up and wait” phase as Congress debates potential new pandemic relief, the Small Business Administration released details of the Paycheck Protection Program, which stopped taking new applications Aug. 8.

The program, which was given $659 billion in two rounds of funding, still has $133.987 billion remaining, as Congress debates proposals for how the funding could be used.

Read on for more details from the agency’s report.

The Government Accountability Office released its first of a series of reports assessing today’s housing markets which addresses homeownership.

The office found two main points in the report, including that the makeup of homeowners differs by location and type of buyer, “sometimes substantially.”

Read on for more details from the report.

For the first time since 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission features a full set of five commissioners, after the Senate approved two members by voice vote.

Caroline Crenshaw will join the SEC for a term expiring June 5, 2024, while the Senate renewed Hester Peirce as a commissioner for a term ending June 5, 2025.

Read on for more details.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest study on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) found that HELOC use declined in 2019 and is expected to fall again this year.

MBA said the uncertainty of the pandemic likely would continue hesitancy from borrowers in tapping into their home equity in 2020.

Read on for details from the report.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks took the opportunity to detail work the regulator is considering on new third-party vendor management standards during a conversation with American Bankers Association (ABA) President and CEO Rob Nichols at the ABA’s Risk and Compliance virtual conference.

Brooks said he’s asked the “interesting question” about whether supervised entities could gain relaxed onboarding requirements.

Read on for more details, and Brooks’ strident defense of the agency’s true lender proposal.

The latest Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers found that banks reported stronger demand for residential real estate in the second quarter, even as they reported tightening credit standards at their banks.

On balance, banks reported that their lending standards across all loan categories are currently at the tighter end of the range of standards between 2005 and the present.

Read on for more details from the latest Fed survey.

Capital One has been assessed a $80 million civil penalty by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for failing to establish effective risk assessment processes before it moved IT operations to the cloud.

The movement to the cloud dates back to 2015, and Capital One neither admitted nor denied the allegations in a consent order with the regulator.

Read on for more details.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced that it had granted Varo Bank a full-service national bank charter, the first fintech company to be granted a full bank charter.

Varo Money was founded in 2015 and launched publicly in 2017 as a mobile banking startup, offering banking services targeted to younger consumers comfortable with entirely online banking.

Read on for details from the move and reaction.

The Federal Trade Commission testified at an oversight hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation about the agency’s work to protect consumers and promote competition, including its efforts to combat frauds designed to take advantage of consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency testified to money returned to harmed consumers, but reiterated its request to Congress to gain authority to issue civil money penalties.

Read on for more details.

At its latest board meeting, the National Credit Union Administration approved a final rule amending the chartering and field-of-membership rules for credit unions applying for a community charter approval, expansion, or conversion.

The change was among four items approved by the board.

Read on for more details from the meeting.

Five Star Global, a leader in the U.S. residential mortgage market, real estate, and mid-market mergers and acquisitions, announced the appointment of K. Todd Storch as CEO and Jonathan Hughes as CFO and VP of Operations.

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) announced the hire of its government relations legal intern Michael Marshall as director of regulatory and legal affairs.

Across the industry, digital adoption has soared since the pandemic forced remote and contactless transactions to grow. Mortgage technology firms have seen increased use because of that shift, and on Thursday, that trend led to the acquisition of Ellie Mae for the second time in two years.

Intercontinental Exchange announced that it would buy Ellie Mae from private-equity firm Thoma Bravo for $11 billion in cash and stock. The move comes 18 months after Thoma Bravo bought Ellie for $3.7 billion in cash.

Read on for details and reactions from both companies.

During the 16th annual National Settlement Services Summit (NS3), slated for Sept. 1-3, attendees will have the opportunity to attend a track focused on cybersecurity.

This is one of three tracks featured at the show and will include appearances from the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Read on for more information.

Top executives from large businesses around the country, led by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, have written to Congress, calling on legislation to extend and create lending programs for small businesses.

The executives suggest the programs operate through the banks and lenders who have participated in the Paycheck Protection Program.

Read on for details from the letter to Congress.

As the Small Business Administration (SBA) nears the launch next week of its portal to accept loan forgiveness applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, the agency on Tuesday released a series of frequently asked questions on forgiveness.

SBA said that borrowers and lenders “may rely on the guidance provided” in the FAQs as SBA’s interpretation.

Read on for details from the agency’s guidance.

Rocket Companies, the parent of Quicken Loans, Amrock, Nexsys Technologies and others, debuted as a publicly traded company Aug. 6.

The company had planned to offer shares in a range of $20-$22 but ended up pricing its offering at $18 a share with 100 million shares offered, valuing the company at more than $2 billion.

Read on for more details and reaction from Rocket Companies leaders Jay Farner and Dan Gilbert.

A new analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data from Zillow found that Black borrowers were denied mortgage loans at a far higher rate than white borrowers in 2019.

More than one-third of Black borrowers who were denied were turned down because of their credit history.

Read on for details from the latest analysis by Zillow.

As mortgage rates broke through 3 percent in July for the first time in history, Black Knight increased its forecast of the amount of homeowners who could benefit from a refinance.

In addition, Black Knight found that more than half of all homeowners could lower their mortgage rates through a refinance today.

Read more for details from the latest report.

OpenClose announced that it integrated with Access Business Technologies’ MortgageExchange interface solution, a secure cloud-based environment that enables multiple platforms and applications to share data between disparate systems.

SLK Global Solutions announced that its property search solution SmartProp is now integrated with SharperLending’s EPN settlement services platform.

Will they, or won’t they?

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is scheduled to stop taking applications again Aug. 6. As of the end of business July 30, the PPP still had close to $130 billion in funding available.

In the Senate version of the latest round of federal stimulus, PPP would get an additional $190 billion in funding, and businesses would be able to access a second PPP loan if they already had received one earlier – with conditions on which businesses could access a second loan.

But talks between Democrats and Republicans have stalled. Will they pass legislation before PPP expires again?

The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) announced it was issuing a management alert to the administration over “serious concerns of potential fraud” in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Advance (EIDL) grant programs that require immediate attention and action.

The OIG report said that it received complaints of more than 5,000 instances of suspected fraud from financial institutions, with nearly 3,800 coming from six institutions.

Read on for more details from the alert, and OIG suggestions to SBA.

In its latest quarterly report on loan originator compensation, LBA Ware found that total commissions paid rose 59 percent in the second quarter from a year before.

The company said that a significant increase in refinance volume helped drive the rise in commissions.

Read on for more details from the company’s report.

It has been more than 18 months since the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had Senate-confirmed leads in its top three positions, but that finally is the case, as the Senate easily confirmed Dana Wade as the Federal Housing Administration commissioner.

She joined HUD Secretary Ben Carson and Deputy Secretary Brian Montgomery atop the agency’s leadership.

Read on for more details and for reaction from HUD and the industry.

Moody’s Analytics said in a recent note that Black Knight’s acquisition of Optimal Blue could be a credit negative for the company.

Moody’s cited a rising debt burden risk as a potential concern in the acquisition.

Read on for more details from the analysts’ report.

A new report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that mortgage servicers might be failing to provide statutorily required information to borrowers about forbearance plans.

In response to the report, FHFA told the OIG that it shared its concern that servicers might not be adequately informing homeowners that forbearance is available to them.

Read on for details from the OIG report.

Top of Mind Networks, a leader in customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation software for the mortgage lending industry, has added game-changing real estate market intelligence, collaboration and analytics tools from MobilityRE to its flagship SurefireCRM.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced consent orders with a pair of mortgage companies after finding they violated the Mortgage Acts and Practices – Advertising Rule (MAP Rule) in advertising loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The companies combined will play more than $1.1 million in civil-money penalties, according to the orders.

Read on for details of the companies and the violations alleged by the bureau.

A new report found that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stopped reporting to congressional appropriations committees under the direction of then-acting director Mick Mulvaney – in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Section 1017(e)(4) of the act requires annual reporting to the committees, which was suspended beginning with Mulvaney’s tenure in 2017.

Read on for more details.

A new report from Fitch Ratings found that residential mortgage borrowers are taking advantage of forbearance plans at a higher rate than comparable borrowers of auto loans and credit cards.

During the Great Recession, many consumers prioritized auto and credit card payments over mortgage payments, resulting in higher delinquencies for home loans than for consumer debt, Fitch stated.

Read on for more details from the Fitch analysts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it reached a stipulated final judgment with the last two defendants of a case it filed in September.

The case involved allegations against a foreclosure relief services company based in Texas and the company’s president and CEO.

Read on for more details.

Black Knight Inc. announced that it would buy Optimal Blue for $1.8 billion, combining its Compass Analytics business with Optimal Blue in a newly formed entity.

Optimal Blue is a leading provider of secondary market solutions and actionable data services.

Read on for more details about the purchase.

Because of the economic uncertainty related to the ongoing pandemic, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) proposed its 2021 housing goals to remain at the levels which they were for 2018-2020.

The proposal would establish housing goals for single-family and multifamily housing.

Read on for more details from FHFA’s announcement.

Embrace Home Loans, a top-ranked national mortgage lender, is actively recruiting loan officers, underwriters and loan processors to meet the growing demand for its mortgage products.

Freedom Mortgage, one of the nation’s largest full-service non-bank mortgage companies and a leader in VA and government-insured lending, plans to add 3,000 mortgage professionals and support staff over the next six months to help meet increasing demand for mortgage refinancing and loan servicing.

Plaza Home Mortgage, Inc., one of the nation’s leading wholesale and correspondent mortgage lenders, announced that the company will now accept full eClosings on all conventional Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac eligible loans originated in jurisdictions that permit them.

The American Bankers Association’s Nominating Committee has selected the official slate of candidates for ABA officers for election at the association’s virtual annual meeting to be held Oct. 20.

As Congress pressed forward on work on a new stimulus package for the country, there appeared progress on adding more funding to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the potential for businesses to get a second PPP loan, and discussions over blanket forgiveness for small borrowers.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday told CNBC that there was bipartisan support for PPP.

Read on for all the latest.

Six weeks after a Ginnie Mae executive said the agency was “just around the corner” from beginning to accept eNotes in its securitizations, Ginnie Mae Principal Executive Vice President Seth Appleton said the program had launched.

As part of the initial phase, issuers may apply to participate as eIssuers and begin securitizing government-backed mortgages comprised of digital collateral with Ginnie Mae approval.

Read on for details of the new capabilities.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council met earlier this month in executive session by telephone.

The highlight news coming from the meeting was the announcement that the council would begin an activities-based review of secondary mortgage market activities.

Read on for more details, and reaction from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria.

MISMO announced that it is looking for participants from the industry to collaborate on a new initiative to facilitate servicing transfers.

Participants will identify and prioritize challenges associated with servicing transfers, with the goal of creating standards and best practices that allow for a more seamless and consistent experience for servicers and borrowers.

Read on for more details from the announcement.

It took 10 years and one day, but the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has completed the rulemaking required of the agency by the Dodd-Frank Act.

A day after the 10th anniversary of the signing of the act into law, the CFTC finalized its rule regarding new capital and financial reporting requirements for swap dealers and major swap participants.

Read on for details of the rule and reaction from the CFTC commissioners on completing their statutory mission.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson joined acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) in an event to raise awareness of the way in which Opportunity Zones can receive credit under new regulatory rules.

The event took place in Charleston, S.C., and brought together 50 bankers, developers, and advocates from throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Read on for more details from the event.