Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook plans to sue President Donald Trump after he attempted to fire her on Monday, citing allegations of mortgage fraud. The case has renewed concerns over the Fed’s independence and added fresh volatility to financial markets. “President Trump has no authority to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. His attempt to […]
Fed’s Lisa Cook to sue Trump over attempted firing Read More »
Many in the real estate industry lauded President Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election as they anticipated his win would usher in a new wave of weaker antitrust scrutiny on an industry that had spent the past four years battling its fair share of antitrust suits. However, these hopes and dreams were put
Is the real estate industry getting its antitrust enforcement wish? Read More »
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium left real estate and mortgage professionals cautiously optimistic. While expectations are building for lower interest rates, volatility remains a concern. In his final address as Fed chair at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual conference, Powell signaled the possibility
Powell’s Jackson Hole speech stirs cautious optimism for housing Read More »
Roger Alford’s time at the Department of Justice (DOJ) may have been brief — much to the relief of the real estate industry — but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have thoughts on his time there. Alford, a law professor at Notre Dame who served as an expert witness testifying against the real estate industry
Former DOJ official blames lobbyist for weaker antitrust scrutiny Read More »
Clifford Rossi speaks from the vantage point of someone who has been inside the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). In different periods during the 1990s and 2000s, he served as a senior financial economist at Fannie Mae and as senior director of single-family risk management at Freddie Mac. Rossi was among the earliest advocates of merging the
Ex-GSE risk chief makes case for Fannie-Freddie merger Read More »
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) confirmed on Monday that it has reached a $2.3 million settlement with former mortgage lender and servicer Caliber Home Loans Inc. California regulators found that in 2016, Caliber overcharged borrowers per diem interest and later identified 4,912 affected loans between 2012 and 2019, totaling $550,316. These
Caliber Home Loans fined $2.3M for overcharging California borrowers Read More »
“One voice” or no voice at all? As of August 2025, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is officially enforcing an English-only policy across its operations. Under direction from the Trump administration’s executive order that declared English the “official language” of the United States, HUD has begun removing all translated materials from
HUD’s English-only policy slams the door on the American Dream Read More »
Florida homebuyers are facing the same affordability challenges that other housing markets are grappling with, but with added regulatory hurdles if they want to buy a condo. The Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals (FAMP), which is hosting its annual convention this week in Orlando, is addressing those challenges head-on, looking to improve the Florida housing market
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In the debate over whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should merge, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has remained consistent: “We don’t think that would be a good idea,” chief economist Mike Fratantoni said. The trade group supports a stock offering that preserves stability in the secondary mortgage market while advocating for privatization with an
MBA opposes GSE merger, supports explicit government guarantee Read More »
Mortgage lenders deploying artificial intelligence should prepare now for Colorado’s comprehensive AI law that will take effect in February 2026 and rethink how they manage compliance risk. That’s according to Mike Brown, chief product officer at Xactus, and Wendy Lee, managing partner at LOGS Legal Group, who appeared on stage this week at HousingWire‘s AI
Mortgage lenders urged to build AI compliance foundations Read More »