News

Fannie Mae's multifamily issuance increased nearly $10 billion from 2011 to 2012, the GSE announced.

1st Regents Bank, of Andover, Minnesota, became the country's second FDIC-insured institution to collapse in 2013, the FDIC announced Friday. All of 1st Regents' estimated $49.1 million in deposits and virtually all of its $50.2 million in assets will be assumed by First Minnesota Bank in Minnetonka, the agency said in a release. First Minnesota will pay the FDIC a premium of 2 percent to assume the deposits.

Caliber Funding and Vericrest Financial have agreed to combine their operations to create one full-service, residential mortgage banking organization offering originations and loan servicing solutions, the companies announced.

Veros Real Estate Solutions announced its PATHWAY technology solution is ready to deliver Fannie Mae's proprietary appraisal messages.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced more new rules designed to shape up origination practices and compensation.

360 Mortgage Group, a Texas-based privately-owned mortgage bank, recently announced the addition of two new mortgage refinance products to its inventory. The bank now offers customers access to the Veterans Affairs (VA) Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan Program and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Non-Credit Qualifying Streamline Product.

The debt ceiling controversy and its impact on the nation's financial credibility demands a solution that will last for more than just a few months.

Consumer spending continued its backslide in December, according to professional services firm Deloitte. Deloitte's Consumer Spending Index--which is made up of components measuring consumer tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages, and real home prices--slipped to 3.81 in December from November's reading of 3.96. The decline continues a downward trend that started in November after nearly a year of steady gains. Most of the drop in spending stems from an increase in unemployment claims following superstorm Sandy.

Starting in January 2014, mortgage lenders will work under new rules governing the handling of appraisals and other home value estimates. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Friday the adoption of a new rule intended to improve consumer access to appraisal reports. In addition, the CFPB (in partnership with five other federal regulatory agencies) issued a rule establishing specific appraisal requirements for higher-priced mortgage loans and properties flipped within six months of purchase.

Unemployment rates fell in 22 states in December but rose in 16, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday in its monthly Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) release. In November, unemployment rates dropped in 45 states. The unemployment rate based on the sum of the regional reports computed to 7.7 percent, slightly below the 7.8 percent national rate reported January 4.