Government

The Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released their first quarter refinance report, revealing that refinance volume has increased in March, while mortgage rates remained near 20 month lows in February. The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) had 31,648 refinances, bringing the total refinances through this program to 3,302,102 since it began.

Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-New York), Andy Barr (R-Kentucky), along with 252 other House Members have wrote a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) requesting a grace period that would help lenders and home buyers comply with new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure regulation. Congress members argue that the rule will place challenges on the entire housing industry and families that are looking to buy a home before the school year begins.

​Interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from March to April, according to several Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA) indices of new mortgage contracts. The FHFA conducted a Monthly Interest Rate Survey (MIRS) to find interest rate data, which provides monthly information on interest rates, loan terms, and house prices by property type, loan type, and by lender type, as well as information on 15-year and​​​ 30-year fixed-rate loans.

Individuals' optimism regarding future financial prospects increased substantially from 2013 to 2014, while perceptions of current financial well-being improved only modestly, according to a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve released Wednesday. The Fed's 2014 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, which was completed by about 5,800 individuals last fall to provide insight into various aspects of Americans' personal finances such as economic security, banking, credit access and usage, housing, household debt (including education and student loan debt), savings, and preparedness for retirement.

Moody's Investors Service recently released a rating action report revealing that it has downgraded the ratings of three tranches issued from Fannie Mae REMIC Trust 2001-W3.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey found that mortgage applications are down 1.5 percent from last week. Freddie Mac also released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), revealing that the average fixed mortgage rates moved just slightly lower following three consecutive weeks of increases.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen confirmed in speech held today at the Providence Chamber of Commerce in Providence, Rhode Island, that interest rates will likely increase later this year due to the gradual improvement in the economy.

Once the fourth-largest investment bank, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was hit hard by the subprime mortgage crisis and filed bankruptcy in 2008. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is making headlines again by filing suit against three financial institutions—Syncora Holdings Ltd., U.S. Bancorp, and GreenPoint Mortgage Funding, Inc.—in an attempt to disallow “duplicate” claims emerging from crisis-era loans.

The Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015, introduced last week by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) is aimed at providing regulatory relief for community and regional banks and credit unions, and proposes what Shelby calls "moderate" changes that would increase the transparency of the Federal Reserve.

HUD recently released a notice requesting public comment on proposed revisions to the Addendum to Uniform Residential Loan Application, also known as the 92900-A. This is the loan certification document signed by lenders.