Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

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

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

The Justice Department subpoenaed a key witness in the case, questioning the conduct of Bill Pulte and Ed Martin. View the full article

Nearly 85,000 sellers removed their properties in September, the highest number for that month in eight years, according to Redfin. 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

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

Big-picture plans for the government-sponsored enterprises get the spotlight, but other issues may affect the industry more directly. Part 1 of a series. View the full article

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Federal Reserve Board should reject the renomination of any regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents who have not lived in their districts for three years, signaling a potential confrontation when reappointments come before the board in February. View the full article

In a new interpretive letter, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will allow banks to serve as middlemen for "riskless" crypto trades, extending existing brokerage authority for securities to digital assets. View the full article

An influx of adjustable-rate and cash-out refinance mortgage programs during the month pushed the Mortgage Credit Availability Index 0.7% higher in November. View the full article

Sen. Hassan sent letters to corporate owners of manufactured housing communities, looking for answers on affordability and living conditions for their residents. View the full article

The rent reporting platform says it's helped tenants raise their credit scores by double digits and unlocked $30 billion more in mortgage lending. View the full article

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the FHA-insured loan caps for low- and high-cost areas, which are set based on conforming loan limits. View the full article

The partnership also includes a $50 million equity investment in Finance of America, securing long-term alignment between the companies. 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

Michael Hutchins, the two-time interim chief executive at the government-sponsored enterprise, will remain with the company in his role as president. View the full article

Hart, who came over from Ellie Mae, starts in the position of Jan. 1, as Tim Bowler moves to a new role within ICE's Fixed Income and Data Services division. View the full article

The deal significantly grows United Wholesale Mortgage's servicing portfolio, and it will increase the float on its common stock, making it more investable. View the full article

A federal appeals court agreed to have the full bench rehear arguments by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's union about whether the The President administration planned to gut the agency through mass firings. View the full article

The latest data offered some relief to traders worried about more pronounced inflation that could keep a lid on rate cuts. View the full article

The 30-year fixed remains in its current range, but most expect the rate to reach 6% for 2026, and one observer feels it could actually break under this point. View the full article

Now that quantitative tightening is ending, the debate on who should be the MBS buyer of last resort, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or the Fed, is taking hold View the full article

The lawsuit targets Zillow Flex, in which participating agents must meet Zillow Home Loans pre-approval quotas to maintain access to high quality leads. View the full article

Fed Gov. Stephan Miran has spent his short tenure at the central bank arguing that disinflation in housing and immigration reforms will tamp down inflation in the near term. But other economists say the timing, degree and context of those effects is very much in question. View the full article