Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook's legal team argued in a new letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that the claims "fail on even the most cursory look at the facts." View the full article

Quality Control Advisor Plus is an integrated system which brings together previously separate units, cutting months off of Freddie Mac's current QC process. View the full article

Equities move through a stack of intermediaries, from custodians and clearing firms to brokers. Figure's blockchain structure aims to cut out third parties. 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

BTIG is waiting with "baited breath" for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to relist their common stocks, but if spreads widen, it could derail it from happening. View the full article

November rate locks fell seasonally but hit their strongest level since 2021, led by refis, while lenders shifted more loans to the GSE cash window. View the full article

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors voted Wednesday to reappoint 11 sitting regional Fed presidents, without any dissents. The move precludes any effort the White House might have made to pressure the board to deny reappointments. View the full article

Approximately 70% of home purchasers do not get more than one quote in the mortgage process, doing so could reduce their rate by 50 basis points, Zillow said. View the full article

The threshold regards loans where the annual percentage rate is at least 1.5 percentage points higher than the average prime offer rate on first liens. View the full article

Remote work helped fuel migration and erased the loss of rural residents that occurred in the decade prior to the arrival of Covid, Harvard researchers found. 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

Overall satisfaction is highest when customers receive status updates from mobile apps, according to the J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Claims Digital Experience Study. View the full article

The carryovers range from some $2.4 million in California and some $1.9 million in Texas to $44,851 in Alaska and $39,297 in Vermont. View the full article

AI tools like ChatGPT are reshaping mortgage marketing, forcing lenders to rethink SEO, brand authority and how they show up as consumers turn to generative search for answers. View the full article

National Mortgage News takes a look back at some of the major or unique transactions which went on, or in some cases didn't happen, in the past 12 months. View the full article

As CFPB oversight recedes, servicers are turning to FHA, VA and state rules for guidance, with distressed loan compliance, redefaults and local registration risks rising in 2026. View the full article

Nearly half of all credit card users carry a balance, according to Academy Bank. Higher non-mortgage debt levels can affect home loan underwriting. View the full article

The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based bank expects the pace of loan growth to quicken this year, driven in part by its nine-month-old warehouse lending business. View the full article

The judge said Nexa CEO Mike Kortas' testimony lacked credibility, ruling that $350,000 transferred to Platinum One was an investment, not loan. View the full article

The high court, without comment, refused Emigrant Mortgage's appeal of a verdict holding it liable for no income, no asset verification loans to minorities. View the full article

The mortgage technology unit at Intercontinental Exchange posted a profit for the third straight quarter, even as lower minimums among renewals capped growth. View the full article

Equifax will hold costs for scores from FICO rival Vantagescore through 2027 and offer other incentives meant to drive adoption of the alternative metric. View the full article