Tag: finance

The president-elect has made official his choice to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Unlike some of his recent predecessors, the pick has no housing experience.

Last month, the Donald J. Trump posted on Twitter that he was seriously considering his former GOP rival for the Republican presidential nominee Dr. Ben Carson as the head of HUD.

In the Nov. 22 Twitter post, the billionaire explained that he had gotten to know Carson, who is a brain surgeon, well. Trump added, “he’s a greatly talented person who loves people.”

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From:: Financing

On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted to pass legislation that would raise the threshold for banks that are considered to be too big to fail.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act applies stringent regulations to banks that have at least $50 billion in assets.

The intent of the Dodd-Frank provision is to provide a safeguard against systemic damage that would result from the failure of a massive financial institution.

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From:: Financing

A Quicken Loans Inc. executive who until recently was registered as a lobbyist for the firm has been named to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s transition team.

Shawn Krause started working for the Detroit-based online lender in 1991 as a loan processor. Since that time, she has held numerous positions at the company.

She was a registered lobbyist for Quicken from around 2010 until October 2016, though she reportedly has not done active lobbying for a period of time.

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From:: Financing

As expected, new home-lending activity bounced back from the holiday week. Refinance and adjustable-rate business were the biggest beneficiaries, while jumbo activity took the biggest hit.

Mortgage Daily’s U.S. Mortgage Market Index, a forecasting tool for originations based on average per-user rate-lock volume by OpenClose clients, was 129 in the week ended Dec. 2.

The index, which is not adjusted for seasonal factors, ascended 21 percent versus the previous week. The increase reflects the prior week’s subdued activity from the Thanksgiving holiday.

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From:: Financing

Growing defaults from a wave of securitized commercial real estate loans that are maturing are likely to be exacerbated by the upcoming implementation of the risk retention rule.

Performance data from Trepp LLC indicates that delinquency of at least 30 days on loans included in commercial mortgage-backed securities was 5.03 percent in November.

Based on historical data from the New York-based firm, that was the highest level of CMBS delinquency since December 2015, when the 30-day rate landed at 5.17 percent.

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From:: Financing

Mortgage employment has expanded for eight consecutive months now, though recent market conditions are likely to lead to contraction.

U.S. employers added 178,000 nonfarm jobs in November. Growth accelerated from a downwardly revised 144,950 the prior month.

But job growth plummeted compared to the same month last year, when nonfarm payroll employment grew by an upwardly revised 280,000.

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From:: Financing

Following last week’s escalation in the conforming loan limit, the limit on mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration has been increased.

On Nov. 23, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that the 2017 limit on loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose to $424,100.

The increase in the conforming limit was the first time it has been lifted since 2006 and came as FHFA reported that home prices reached an all-time high.

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From:: Financing

The former chief executive officer of BB&T Corp., who has called for abolishing the Federal Reserve, says he’d be interested in running the central bank.

Janet Yellen, who was nominated by President Barack H. Obama in 2013, became chair of the Fed’s Board of Governors in February 2014.

President-elect Donald J. Trump told CNBC earlier this year that he would most likely replace Yellen when her term comes to an end in January 2018.

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From:: Financing

A new report says that residential loans which are underwritten using alternative documentation are more susceptible to fraud.

Mortgage programs that utilize banks statements and letters from certified public accountants are more risky than traditional loans.

Such alternative document programs carry greater risk of income fraud. In some cases, additional documentation might be required.

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From:: Financing

Serious residential loan delinquency at the Federal National Mortgage Association dropped to the lowest level since it fell into conservatorship.

The Washington-based organization had a total book of business of $3.1297 trillion as of Oct. 31, according to its monthly summary.

That was larger than $3.1233 trillion as of a month earlier. The book of business was also bigger than $3.1045 trillion as of a year earlier.

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From:: Financing