Contracts, Invoices & Legal

Artificial intelligence has opened the door for innovations ranging from virtual economists and compliance assistants to lender-profitability forecasting. View the full article

Americans who qualify for a mortgage with Better will be able to use Bitcoin or USDC as collateral to fund their down payment through a private loan. View the full article

A federal appeals court ruled mortgages in REMIC trusts may qualify as ERISA plan assets, reviving fiduciary duty claims against Onity in a case brought by a union pension fund. View the full article

Stock prices jumped notably following the billionaire and legacy GSE investor's comment indicating Fannie and Freddie have been "stupidly cheap." 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

In an update to its seller and servicer guide, Fannie Mae laid out details on responsibilities for vendor oversight and the need for transparent AI policy. View the full article

Both Chase and Wells Fargo had a 15% reduction quarter-to-quarter in mortgage originations, more than the industry forecast for a 6% drop-off, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods noted. View the full article

Half of Gen Z homeowners and 44% of millennial homeowners were at risk of missing at least one mortgage payment over the last two years, ServiceLink found. View the full article

Loanstream allegedly made over 272,000 calls to over 53,000 unique numbers on the Do Not Call registry over a 10-month period, according to a case filing. View the full article

The US has a shortage of at least 10 million single-family homes, according to a new report from White House economists — a higher figure than some previous estimates from the government and the private sector. View the full article

Dozens of plaintiffs say they still haven't received a full explanation over the mass termination announced last April by FHFA Director Bill Pulte. View the full article

This week's Freddie Mac mortgage rate survey shows rates at the lowest in four weeks, but homebuyers are giving mixed signals even with improved purchase power. View the full article

Three-quarters of buyers assume AI has already been embedded in the housing ecosystem, but 55% would prefer to work with a human to secure a mortgage. View the full article

CEO Tim Spence said folding in the acquired bank has gone to plan so far, but the biggest point of risk is still on the horizon. View the full article

Alongside a bill that gives homeowners a year of forbearance after state-declared emergencies, lawmakers will consider extending wildfire-related moratoriums. View the full article

More than 42,000, or 13.7%, of home-sale agreements in the United States fell through in February, according to a new Redfin report. View the full article

Lenders and condo market stakeholders are raising concerns that new GSE rules ending limited reviews and tightening reserve requirements could raise costs and limit access. View the full article

Pulte alleged that James appeared to misrepresent who would occupy property in separate homeowner insurance applications, saying the documents could indicate that James "may have defrauded" insurers in those states. View the full article

Jumbo loans demand more scrutiny and documentation, but automation is streamlining the process — and lenders who master the product stand to gain in a moderately bullish market. View the full article

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles, who served during President The President's first term, said members of the Fed board should be removable by the president, but that the decentralized structure of the Fed will ensure that monetary policy decisions remain sound. View the full article

Sheer luck kept all but one hurricane from U.S. shores in 2025; one landfall in 2026 could devastate servicers. View the full article

Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr said in a speech Tuesday that rapidly changing trade policies and conflict in the Middle East are straining rural communities by raising business operating costs. View the full article

A federal judge refused to sign a settlement agreement between the Department of Justice and Houston developer Colony Ridge because it failed to provide any consumer relief. DOJ agreed to an out-of-court settlement instead. View the full article

Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is pushing the Federal Reserve for records related to Fed chair-designate Kevin Warsh's actions as a member of the Fed board during the 2008 financial crisis. View the full article