Mortgage

While some may be tempted to assume the latest guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about using artificial intelligence (AI) in credit decisions is intended to put the industry on notice, Garris Horn Senior Partner John Levonick told Dodd Frank Update that does not appear to be the case. In fact, he contends the bureau is “effectively setting the stage for successful use of emerging technology.”

Find out what he believes the impact will be as lenders gain a better understanding of how to use AI and machine learning successfully. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported the largest increase in applications since June in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Sept. 15. Mortgage applications jumped 5.4 percent from the previous week’s results, which included an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.

A recent hearing on the Federal Reserve’s proposed rulemaking to implement the remaining provisions of the international Basel III agreement offered industry leaders a chance to testify in front of lawmakers regarding the measure, which the Fed voted to advance at its July 27 meeting.

Most industry groups expressed opposition to the measure.

The Mortgage Bankers Association released a whitepaper for financial professions navigating the ever-changing mortgage lending landscape through peaks and valleys in revenues and costs, as well as the ever-winding regulatory river through the mortgage marketplace.

The whitepaper explores proposed regulatory evolutions affecting mortgage lenders and offers analysis exploring the extent of their impact.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced it will hold additional stakeholder forums and listening sessions to gather public feedback on the agency’s plan to transition to a new credit scoring model for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) – Fannie Mae and Freddie.

The plan calls for the GSEs to adopt new credit scoring models and move from a tri-merge model for reporting requirements to a bi-merge reporting model. FHFA initially announced the pending changes in October 2022 as an effort to better ensure the quality of loans serviced by the enterprises. 

Mortgage lenders saw an uptick in credit availability in August, according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report in which the Mortgage Bankers Association provides analysis of data compiled using ICE Mortgage Technology.

Per the MCAI, mortgage credit availability inched up by 0.3 percent in August, indicating a slight loosening of lending standards, whereas a decline in MCAI would indicate that lending standards are tightening.

Freddie Mac CEO Michael DeVito recently told board leaders at the government-sponsored enterprise he has helmed since June 2021 that he intends to retire during the first quarter of 2024.

The Freddie Mac Board of Directors and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson issued statements regarding DeVito’s pending departure.

The 2024 Filing Instructions Guide for Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) can be found via the websites for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

Additionally, the bureau released its Supplemental Guide for Quarterly Filers for 2024. This guide includes 2024 calendar year quarterly filing deadlines for financial institutions tasked with filing HMDA data on a quarterly basis.