Headlines

Warren Buffett weighed in on the recent Wells Fargo scandal, which saw its sales reps create fake accounts in order to meet quotas, at a recent Q&A with Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. According to the billionaire, the bank incentivized the "wrong kind of behavior," and CEO John Stumpf should've acted sooner. Buffett also covered the firm's recent earnings report and expected corporate tax cuts.

For a limited time, Chase Mortgage is partnering with Chase Sapphire to offer Sapphire customers 100,000 reward points on their credit cards when the purchase a home loan with Chase Mortgage, according to an announcement Monday.

A new poll shows about half of non-homeowning Americans plan to buy a home in the next five years. Another 20 percent will buy in the next decade. Intent to purchase was highest with those between 35 and 54, as well as those located in the Southern U.S.

A recent housing report showed new construction increased in some of the country’s major metropolitan areas during the first quarter of this year. Much of this increase appears to be driven by increased housing demands and decreased supply. However, higher prices, rising construction costs and proximity to where consumers want to be are impacting just how much of an increase can be realized.

A recently-published letter from Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), originally sent in April to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, informed Mnuchin of the Financial Services Committee’s intention to retain control of all communication between the committee and the Treasury. Under the 1967 Freedom of Information Act, Congress is exempt from requests for records and material, and as Hensarling stated, communications between the Financial Services Committee and various branches of government constitute congressional records. The Financial Services Committee’s top Democratic Representative, Maxine Waters (D-California), criticized Hensarling’s letters.

Arch Mortgage Insurance Company, a Greensboro, North Carolina-based private mortgage insurer, announced an integration with Lender Price, a California-based big data technology provider. Arch MI’s RateStar quotes will now be available through Lender Price.

Mortgage Network, Inc., announced Thursday it has relocated its former West Chester, Pennsylvania branch to Exton, Pennsylvania, and will be hiring new loan officers to expand the branch.

Regions Bank, one of the top 20 U.S. banks, renewed its agreement to use LoanSphere MSP on its first mortgage loans and will also be converting home equity loans and lines over to LoanSphere MSP.

Black Knight Financial Services’ Data and Analytics division announced this week the hiring of Dave Hurt to lead business in capital markets and government entities. He will be responsible for developing new client relationships and maintaining existing ones.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is planning to assess the effectiveness of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) mortgage servicing rule. The rule, introduced in January 2013 and which took effect in January 2014, was designed to assist consumers who were behind on mortgage payments. Currently, the Bureau is seeking comment from consumers, consumer advocates, housing counselors, mortgage loan servicers, industry representatives, and the general public regarding the rule, and will issue a report of their assessment by January 2019.