Daily Dose

While policymakers have made some headway in pushing through different GSE reform packages, a new report from Kroll Bond Rating Agency contends any reform legislation is unlikely to pass through Congress before the 2016 general election at the earliest.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has targeted an Atlanta-based online lender to pay up for its role in an alleged bait and switch scheme. AmeriSave, its affiliate, Novo Appraisal Management Companies, and the CEO/owner of both companies, Patrick Markert, were penalized for misleading consumers by advertising fraudulent low rates and then failing to honor those rates once the consumers were locked in.

In the first step of what is planned to be a multi-year effort, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has put out a request for industry input on the development of a common mortgage-backed security (MBS) designed to be issued and guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

With the second-quarter earnings season mostly done, financial services firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) reports that mortgage bankers tracked in its coverage saw a 22 percent increase in volumes from the first quarter to the second. "We view the mortgage results for the banks that have already reported 2Q earnings as largely in line with expectations," KBW commented.

According to a quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors, median existing single-family home prices increased in 71 percent of measured markets last quarter, with 122 out of 173 metros posting annual increases from Q2 2013. Nineteen of those areas reported double-digit increases. Those numbers reflected a slowdown from the first quarter, when prices rose in 74 percent of metros, and 37 areas saw gains higher than 10 percent.

Walter Investment Management announced Monday that the company experienced a net loss of $12.9 million for Q2 2014. The company's net income was $45.0 million after adjustments made for goodwill impairment charges in the reverse mortgage segment and reductions in the company's servicing rights' fair value, regarding chances in valuation inputs.

It might be old hat to say that women have come a long way in the workforce in the past half-century, but it's true. For its special August issue, MReport explored the ascent of women in the workplace, putting a spotlight on just a few of those who have made their way up the ladder.

Over the next 12 months, Americans expect median home prices to rise 3.87 percent, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That figure is down slightly from the New York Fed's June survey, marking the second consecutive month of declining price change expectations. The decline is in line with Fannie Mae's most recent National Housing Survey, which showed a decline in expected price growth to 2.3 percent.

Now that so many of the once-popular home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) are coming due, many borrowers could be in for what TransUnion calls "payment shock." A new study by the credit reporting agency shows that nearly half of all HELOC balances at the end of 2013—totaling about $474 billion—were originated between 2005 and 2007. Many of these HELOCs had 10-year draw periods, which means that the bill will soon come for those borrowers.

Speaking at a conference in Sweden Monday morning, Stanley Fischer, vice chairman of the Fed and former governor of the Bank of Israel, admitted that the global recovery from the recession has been disappointing at best, noting that economic growth among the world's most advanced economies has underperformed compared to previous post-recessionary periods.