Contracts, Invoices & Legal

The prepayment rate grew by 37% over September as mortgage rates fell leading to higher refinancing volume in October, ICE Mortgage Technology said. View the full article

Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Fulton Financial said Monday it will pay $243 million in stock for Blue Foundry Bancorp, which has lost more than $20 million since converting to a public company in 2021. View the full article

A federal judge threw out the criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the cases had been illegally appointed. View the full article

The government-sponsored enterprise took its first look at what new loan volume might be like in two years and found it could rise closer to pandemic levels. View the full article

Social media posts point to a 40% to 100% price hike this year, the latest in a series of hikes started in 2023, when for some lenders prices rose 400%. View the full article

The Natural Treasury Employees Union has asked a district court to clarify whether Russell Vought, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has complied with a preliminary injunction. View the full article

While the tone is still generally upbeat, the market is mired below October's price highs and yields are range-bound. View the full article

Uncooperative neighbors, vicious pets and threats of violence are some of the dangers mortgage field employees run into when on assignments. View the full article

New private-label bonds collateralized by loans made outside the qualified mortgage definition hit highs for the month, quarter and year, CreditFlow data shows. View the full article

Luxury home prices rose 5.5% year over year in October to a median $1.28 million, far outgaining the 1.8% increase of nonluxury homes. View the full article

The vendor, SitusAMC Group Holdings, LP, said in a statement Saturday that someone compromised its systems and took client data including "accounting records and legal agreements." View the full article

Thursday's wild selloffs, and further losses Friday, were a reminder that the fervor of retail traders — whipped up in part by Federal Housing Finance Agency head Pulte — can quickly turn sour. View the full article

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the new oath was necessary because prior leadership engaged in what it describes as "thuggery" during exams. Former CFPB officials rejected the agency's characterization of past actions. View the full article

A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled the debtor could not prove she was injured by any alleged conduct by Nationstar or other defendants WSFS and A&D. View the full article

Saul Van Beurden, Wells Fargo's consumer banking CEO and former head of technology, will lead the way on harnessing artificial intelligence. View the full article

The average premium increase is 64% or $600 a year more, and in some states the rate would go up by more than $1,000, the comparison shopping platform found. View the full article

Renters can now enroll in CreditClimb through Zillow to have their on-time rent payments reported to the three major credit bureaus. View the full article

The credit card will provide borrowers points for making their normal monthly mortgage loan payments and for the purchase of home products and services. View the full article

While some international purchasers are reluctant to buy in the U.S. right now, interest in investment properties still abounds, the CEO of Waltz said. View the full article

Federal Reserve Gov. Stephen Miran reiterated his view that monetary policy has become more restrictive than economists think, but expressed increased urgency that the central bank take strong corrective action. View the full article

Non-QM's rapid rise is reshaping how lenders underwrite and manage risk, setting a model the rest of the industry will follow, writes the founder of Prudent AI. View the full article

The credit score firm partnered with Plaid to bring additional cash-flow data into its previously released UltraFICO score. View the full article

Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, citing several studies, outlined her concerns Thursday that generative AI could be used to manipulate markets, and regulators have not yet thought through how to police such activity. View the full article

Frank Cassidy, who is currently principal deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, will soon face a full Senate vote. View the full article

Even with this week's increase, mortgage rates have remained within a 13 basis point band since mid-September, with industry pundits saying that's where they will stay. View the full article