Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

Housing finance players accused of wronging consumers slammed the lawsuits as politically motivated efforts by former Biden-era bureau director Rohit Chopra. View the full article

The potential impacts of import tariffs cloud the outlook, though, and could lead mortgage rates to surge and fall throughout the coming year. View the full article

Neo Home Loans, the business at the center of the trade secrets suit, has always maintained its independence in its lender partnerships, its co-creator claims. View the full article

A joint venture with Sixth Street will give Figure more liquidity to scale Figure Connect, a blockchain-based private capital marketplace. View the full article

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board of directors approved a proposal to roll back its 2024 merger policy, reinstating previous guidelines while charting a new policy toward bank combinations. View the full article

The grandson of the PulteGroup founder did not elaborate on plans for a much-anticipated government-sponsored enterprise exit from conservatorship. View the full article

Nationally, starts are higher even when seasonal differences are accounted for and in some areas distress is far above the U.S. average, Attom found. View the full article

TD has been adjusting its balance sheet to comply with a cap on its U.S. retail banking assets, imposed last year as part of its money-laundering plea. View the full article

A House Financial Services Committee spokesperson said the committee will hold its required semiannual hearing with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director after nominee Jonathan McKernan is confirmed rather than with interim director Russell Vought. View the full article

"Red flags are emerging for the US economy," said Elias Haddad, senior market strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. "Another month or two of poor US economic data would deliver a blow to the US exceptionalism narrative." View the full article

A series of moves aimed at deleveraging its balance sheet led to the loss, but the bottom line improved markedly over 2023. View the full article

The Federal Reserve terminated two mortgage-related enforcement actions against Wells Fargo & Co. from more than a decade ago, the central bank said Tuesday. View the full article

Delinquencies are higher in one sector but overall pretax operating income is at a multi-decade high and adding to profit from originations. View the full article

Recent housing trends more favorable to buyers will ease some of the pressure for higher down payments in order to secure a winning bid, Redfin finds. View the full article

Consumer and employees groups are seeking a restraining order against CFPB acting Director Russell Vought, arguing that he was unlawfully installed and has "no power to direct" the bureau. View the full article

Union Home Mortgage claims eight of its managers and an LO transitioned to American Pacific Mortgage, breaching a number of agreements. View the full article

If the government were to end the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conservatorships, the new status could constrain CRT deal ratings, as they are counterparties. View the full article

Nexpoint Real Estate Opportunities has now made its own bid for the REIT, just days prior to a special meeting to vote on the merger with Ready Capital. View the full article

Scott Turner, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, extended borrowers more leeway after he toured the region with a local official. View the full article

A just-released McKinsey report predicts strong growth for market data providers, but analysts note that big tech companies are encroaching. View the full article

A survey of senior bank officers at community banks by fintech firm IntraFi found bankers nearly evenly divided on the idea of merging federal bank regulators, while an overwhelming 93% support maintaining agency independence. View the full article

The 17.2% of mortgage borrowers nationwide with interest rates equal to, or greater than 6%, is the largest share since 2016, according to Redfin. View the full article

Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman — who is viewed as a leading contender to be the next Vice Chair for Supervision at the central bank — said changes to the post-financial crisis framework should be a focal point of the central bank's ongoing regulatory policy review. View the full article

The partnership with homebuilder Onx Homes, the company's ninth joint venture, gives Loandepot more solid footing in the South. View the full article

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation index showed little progress toward its target of 2%, increasing the likelihood of a prolonged rate pause. View the full article