Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, came in at 1.957 million, up slightly from 1.947 million in the prior week. View the full article

Consecutive weeks of mortgage rate increases resulted in a 5.2% decrease in mortgage loan application volume, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. View the full article

Finance of America is buying Onity's MSRs and loan pipeline in this niche as PHH retains its role as a subservicer and remains involved in buyout securitization. View the full article

The Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a final rule Tuesday that softens leverage demands for the biggest and most systemically risky banks and lowers the community bank leverage ratio to 8%. View the full article

The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of home-purchase applications jumped 7.6% to 181.6 in the week ended Nov. 21, data from the group showed Wednesday. View the full article

House Democrats argue that HUD's cut to the Continuum of Care Program could push 170,000 people to homelessness. View the full article

Non-banks tracked by Morningstar DBRS reported combined net income of $367 million for the third quarter, down from $807 million three months prior. View the full article

Now that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has refused to request funding from the Federal Reserve System, many experts see the case making its way to the Supreme Court. View the full article

The drop in mortgage rates as measured by Freddie Mac, came about even as the 10-year Treasury yield used to price loans moved higher since Thanksgiving. View the full article

Treasury yields climbed to the highest in more than two months, following losses in most global government-bond markets, ahead of a Federal Reserve interest-rate decision that may alter expectations for monetary policy in 2026. View the full article

Michael Burry, the money manager made famous in The Big Short, believes a re-listing of the US housing-finance giants is "nearly upon us." View the full article

Democratic senators are calling for Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott to compel the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to testify. View the full article

Rohit Chopra is named senior advisor to the Democratic Attorneys General Association's working group on consumer protection and affordability; Flagstar Bank adds additional wealth-planning capabilities to its private banking division; Chime promotes three members of its executive leadership team; and more in this week's banking news roundup. View the full article

Our experts expect a mortgage market reset in 2026 with an uptick in originations, but warn lenders not to skimp on compliance even as the reins loosen. View the full article

A group of 22 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Russell Vought, the bureau and the Federal Reserve, arguing that the administration's position that the CFPB cannot be funded is wrong. View the full article

The regulator lowered benchmarks for acquisitions of certain single-family loans including low-income refinances, and left multifamily targets intact. View the full article

Under a proposed rule, the agency would let most nationally chartered firms off the hook for heightened regulatory standards. The rule would raise the bar from $50 billion to $700 billion of assets and leave only eight firms subject to heightened regulation. View the full article

The latest announcement comes two months after an initial round of staff reductions following approval of Rocket's acquisition of the company. View the full article

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods attributes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac portfolio growth for the narrower spreads, but other reasons include lower volatility. View the full article

Although some of the cohort surveyed were flush with savings, others admitted having precarious debt situations and steadfast attitudes toward luxury purchases. View the full article

Walker & Dunlop Affordable Bridge Capital will originate flexible, short-term first-mortgage bridge loans for properties designated for government programs. View the full article

Loanlogics rolled out the LoanBeam NQM income analyzer in October and has four users for the non-qualified mortgage underwriting technology, including Pennymac. View the full article

With ongoing affordability issues, the Federal Housing Administration program will keep taking low down payment market share from the private mortgage insurers. View the full article

Total lock volume increased 2% from November and finished 30% higher than last December, according to Optimal Blue's latest Market Advantage report. View the full article

United Wholesale Mortgage sees this branding partnership as an opportunity to recruit workers in its home market in the Detroit area, CMO Sarah DeCiantis said. View the full article