Headlines

According to Freddie Mac's monthly volume summary, released Tuesday, the mortgage giant's total loan portfolio grew last month at an annualized rate of 2.5 percent, the highest growth rate since March 2013.

The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence declined to 88.7 in the group's November reading, according to a report. The drop follows a bump of more than five points in October to a post-recession high of 94.5 (revised to 94.1 in the latest measure).

According to a second estimate from the Commerce Department, GDP grew at an annualized rate of 3.9 percent in July, August, and September, down slightly from the second quarter's growth rate of 4.6 percent and up from the first quarter's 2.1 percent downturn.

LRES, a valuation and asset management solutions provider headquartered in California, has successfully connected its DirectConnect integration hub with Exchange, an electronic provider network offered by Black Knight Financial Services' RealEC Technologies division.

In an release, FHFA announced that the maximum limit for mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will stay at $417,000 for single-unit properties in most of the country, with a maximum of $625,500 for certain high-cost areas. Forty-six counties will see an increase based on their own local conditions.

The strategic plan outlines three goals for FHFA for the forthcoming fiscal years: ensure safe and sound regulated entities; ensure liquidity, stability, and access in housing finance; and manage the enterprises' ongoing conservatorship.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) agreed to partially waive the additional sanctions that could have been imposed on Bank of America following a record settlement in August over the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities, according to sources familiar with the case in a report from Bloomberg News.

In a recent company announcement, Nationstar subsidiary Solutionstar named Chad Neel as its EVP of servicing solutions.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI), a measure of economic growth expectations for the coming months, increased 0.9 percent in October to a reading of 105.2, the group reported Thursday. The spike follows a 0.7 percent increase in September and a flat reading in August.

Solutionstar, a subsidiary of Texas-based Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, announced Friday it has entered into an agreement to acquire Experience 1, Inc., the holding company for Title365 and two other technology subsidiaries in a $36 million cash deal.