Contracts, Invoices & Legal

Tri-merge mandates prop up a credit bureau/FICO oligopoly, raising mortgage costs with little benefit despite risk concerns, the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors argues. View the full article

The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage rose 8 basis points to 6.24% in the week ended Jan. 23, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. View the full article

Preemption would hurt affordability for many, the Conference of State Banking Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators said. View the full article

How the message from Sierra Pacific Mortgage could have been delivered in a better, more empathetic fashion rather than leaving affected workers embittered. View the full article

Newrez is leaning into technology investments to shore up borrower recapture and future originations after fair-value losses in its mortgage-servicing rights pushed the lender to a fourth-quarter loss, underscoring how quickly market volatility can upend mortgage earnings. View the full article

Ownwell is one of the latest companies focused on easing mortgage-adjacent processes and costs to find new investment in the first two months of 2026. View the full article

The agreement between servicing technology platform Vertyx and Great Lakes Credit Union arrives as the mortgage industry sets its focus on borrower retention. View the full article

The bill, offered by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Todd Young, R-Ind., would allow Federal Home Loan Bank members to establish tax-exempt community infrastructure development bonds. View the full article

Affordability improved in February as rates dipped below 6%, but March's climb to 6.43% signals tougher months ahead. Lenders should act now on pockets of opportunity before rising rates erode recent gains. View the full article

Recent double-pledging scandals in auto lending and the U.K. put U.S. mortgage lenders on alert. Here's what to watch and how MERS, e-notes and electronic vaults can help. View the full article

Serious delinquency transitions in older mortgages inched up, hinting at the impact of an FHA rule change's impact in conjunction with other stressors. View the full article

Rithm Capital, a real estate investment trust, is sponsoring the deal, in which property focused investor loans represent 32.60% of the collateral pool. View the full article

If Experian eventually charges for VantageScore 4.0, it will be offered for at least a 50% discount compared to what Fair Isaac Corp. charges for its FICO score. View the full article

The GSE accused four companies of trademark infringement, alleging they misrepresented to consumers that their products received its endorsement. View the full article

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, building on an executive order by President The President, wants to eliminate the legal framework of "disparate impact" from its implementation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. View the full article

If cumulative loss or a delinquency trigger event is in effect, then the deal will distribute principal among the class A notes before any principal allocation the class M1 or class B certificates. View the full article

In the New Jersey case, MV Realty and its principals agreed to pay $28 million in fines and restitution for these "Homeowner Benefit Agreements." View the full article

On Thursday, prosecutors unsuccessfully tried again to ask a grand jury in a different Virginia court to return an indictment. View the full article

Nonfarm payrolls increased 64,000 in November after declining 105,000 in October, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Tuesday. View the full article

The deal still faces a lawsuit from activist investor HoldCo Asset Management, which contends that Comerica didn't properly shop itself before agreeing to sell to Fifth Third. View the full article

A housing official renewed his call for credit bureaus to address lenders' concerns. Low pull-through magnifies a cost that's small relative to others. View the full article

Over 46% of mortgage transactions examined had at least one significant wire fraud or title risk, with 3.2 findings per transaction, Fundingshield said. View the full article

Confidence among US homebuilders unexpectedly fell in January, as costly sales incentives outweighed a recent boost from lower mortgage rates and the president's housing proposals. View the full article

A record amount of equity is now held by property owners 62 and older, with a growing share transferring homes to their heirs and not putting them up for sale. View the full article