Contracts, Invoices & Legal

An uptick in problem loans within the heavily scrutinized office sector pushed down share prices at Rhode Island-based Washington Trust and Bank OZK in Little Rock, Arkansas, even though both banks reported solid profits. View the full article

The 30-year fixed is still over 20 basis points higher than its February bottom, but fell 7 basis points this past week on Iran peace hopes, Freddie Mac said. View the full article

More than a third of sellers have mortgage rates below 5%, yet still plan to list their homes this spring, according to a survey from Coldwell Banker. View the full article

Foreclosure auctions available jumped on both a quarterly and yearly basis, but the sales rate did not move in tandem, according to a new report. View the full article

The Mortgage Bankers Association is recommending the option for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers with strong credit with a tri-merge for others. Here's why. View the full article

A proposed update to Basel III capital rules from federal banking regulators does not specifically include mortgage insurance as a factor in determining the risk weight for a mortgage loan held on a bank's balance sheet. Industry experts say it should. View the full article

The bank denied Black, Latino and Asian mortgage applicants roughly twice as frequently as white applicants in North Carolina, according to a study from the Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund. View the full article

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a social media post Friday morning that the Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, clearing a path for Kevin Warsh to be confirmed as Powell's replacement. View the full article

But in its earnings release, parent company Hilltop Holdings warned its full year 2026 results are going to be impacted by things outside of its control. View the full article

Delinquencies also showed signs of overall improvement in March, despite an increase in foreclosure numbers, ICE Mortgage Technology said. View the full article

The Long Island-based regional bank, which has been in turnaround mode for two years, reduced its earnings per share guidance for 2026 and 2027. It cited an expected decrease in net interest income due to higher levels of payoffs and paydowns in commercial real estate. View the full article

The government guarantor aims to distinguish delinquencies reported as a result of a Federal Housing Administration rule change from broader market trends. View the full article

Eligible purchases with the Better Home Equity Card, which lets homeowners instantly spend funds drawn from a home equity line of credit, earn 1% cashback. View the full article

State mortgage regulators are increasingly treating supervision as enforcement, imposing large fines even when companies fix issues quickly, writes the head of public policy at NewRez. View the full article

Check out the next set of names in the 28th edition of National Mortgage News' Top Producers survey, including on how they approach purchase business. View the full article

Brian Hale, CEO of Mortgage Advisory Partners, warns of overcapacity, rising rates and AI-driven disruption forcing consolidation across the lending industry. View the full article

Housing starts increased 10.8% to an annual pace of 1.5 million homes in March, the highest since December 2024, according to figures released Wednesday by the Census Bureau. View the full article

Bank groups said that although the Federal Reserve's eased capital plans are a major improvement over previous versions, the recent proposals still need changes to help avoid risk assessments they say may hinder banks' ability to boost lending. View the full article

The government-sponsored enterprise recorded $98.7 billion in single-family loan acquisitions to begin the year, including over $43 billion in refinances. View the full article

Using a non-GAAP measurement, the real estate investment trust, preparing to be bought by CrossCountry, reported a $25 million loss for the first quarter. View the full article

Kevin Warsh's nomination to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve passed through the Senate Banking committee in a party-line vote. View the full article

Growth in retained and investment portfolios drove gains as the government-sponsored enterprise reported the highest refinancing share seen in four years. View the full article

Rocket, United Wholesale Mortgage and Pennymac said they will use the new government-sponsored enterprise credit metric as large lenders get on board. View the full article

Higher utilization and aggregate excess payments point to pressure, according to TransUnion. Debt-to-income averages remain below traditional mortgage caps. View the full article