Mosul, Iraq — If they had tried to do this a few years ago, the group of Iraqi women enjoying a night out in Mosul would probably have risked severe punishment. The northern city was under the harsh rule of the Islamic State group until the jihadists were ousted from their last major Iraqi bastion in […]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — Ballet dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince, who came to the United States from an orphanage in war-ravaged Sierra Leone and performed on some of the world’s biggest stages, has died, her family said in a statement. She was 29. “Michaela touched so many lives across the world, including ours. She was an unforgettable […]
LONDON — Prince Harry was always something different. From the moment he first appeared in public, snuggled in Princess Diana’s arms outside the London hospital where he was born in 1984, Harry was the ginger-haired scamp who stuck his tongue out at photographers. He grew to be a boisterous adolescent who was roundly criticized for wearing […]
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil formally received on Thursday the return from Denmark of an Indigenous cloak made with 4,000 red feathers of the scarlet ibis bird, a sacred mantle that was taken by Europeans during the 17th century colonial era. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended the ceremony outside Brazil’s National Museum in Rio […]
Tokyo — The samurai in Shogun don’t swing their arms as they walk — just one of many authentic historical details that have helped make the hit television drama this year’s top Emmys contender. The period drama, praised for its meticulous approach to accuracy, made TV history with 25 Emmy nominations, and has already swept up […]
At the end of August, the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) announced that it had relaunched its Reverse Mortgage Insurance & Tax Payment Program (ReMIT), which originally began in 2019 and expanded in 2020 before being halted at the end of 2021. Tikisha Wilson, director of single-family programs at DCHFA, sat down with […]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new report that estimates the benefit payment schedule of the Social Security program, saying that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will “decline to zero” in fiscal year 2034 and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund will do the same in 2064. The report is based […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) this week published a newly proposed Mortgagee Letter on its Single Family Drafting Table, which would align mortgage borrowers and originators in their understanding of how much is owed on a partial claim. Partial claims are designed to offer assistance to mortgage borrowers who have fallen behind on their monthly […]
Buffalo, New York-based mortgage technology firm LenderLogix, a top provider of point-of-sale (POS) and automation software for independent mortgage banks, commercial banks and third-party brokers, announced Thursday that Ben Head will join the company as an account executive. Head will be responsible for expanding the firm’s market share as he moves over from Enact Mortgage […]
Allies of former President Donald Trump are developing plans to move government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of federal conservatorship, a long-sought goal of certain politicians and a move that would have a notable impact on the mortgage finance industry. The news was first reported by the The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). “Former […]
“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” has just been renewed for its 25th season. It is the longest-running prime-time drama on U.S. television. The show’s lead character, Captain Olivia Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay, has become such a fixture in American life she was recently honored by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. VOA’s […]
Rocket Pro TPO, the wholesale arm of Rocket Mortgage, upped its agency conforming loan limits to $802,650 in 48 states, ahead of an announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that is expected in November. For Alaska and Hawaii, the ceiling on loans originated by Rocket Pro TPO and purchased by Fannie Mae and […]
Singapore — Pope Francis wrapped up an arduous 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Friday, defying health concerns to connect with believers from the jungle of Papua New Guinea to the skyscrapers of Singapore. The 87-year-old pontiff flies home to Rome from Singapore, completing his longest trip in duration and distance since he became head of […]
By: Gabriel O. Bermea Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) are colleges and universities where at least 25% of the undergraduate full-time student population is Hispanic. HSIs make up about 20% of all higher education institutions in the United States, yet they enroll 63% of today’s Latino undergraduate students. As a result, HSIs bear the significant responsibility of […]
The parties involved in a lawsuit between Texas Capital Bank (TCB), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Ginnie Mae over a dispute involving Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) have been advised to be ready for a trial in September 2025. This is according to court filings reviewed by HousingWire’s […]
Baby boomers are a key constituency for the reverse mortgage industry since they are currently the generation with the largest share of the population at or above the age of 62. A recent SmartAsset analysis of 2023 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) pinpointed where boomers are most active within the U.S. housing market. “Retirement often […]
Lower mortgage rates over the past several months have led to increased affordability for prospective homebuyers, and this could lead to an extra competitive fall 2024 season. That’s according to a Zillow report released Thursday in which the Seattle-based real estate company said that “lower mortgage rates and rising inventory are giving home buyers a […]
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that Legacy Traditional Schools (LTS), a network of 22 charter schools in Arizona, entered into a resolution agreement to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) and its regulations by providing language assistance to national origin minority […]
Home equity continued to rise in the second quarter of 2024 as residential properties with mortgages collectively gained $1.3 trillion in equity over the past year. But growth began to slow during these three months, according to the CoreLogic Homeowner Equity Insights report published on Thursday. The aggregate equity gain was 8% year over year, […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered TD Bank to pay $28 million for illegal actions that could tarnish consumer credit reports and for not taking timely action to correct its errors. The CFPB’s investigation found that for several years, TD Bank repeatedly gave inaccurate account information to consumer reporting companies, which at times […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released two new resources to help schools comply with the 2024 amendments to Title IX Regulations, which went into effect Aug. 1, 2024. The resources explain how the 2024 Title IX Regulations clarify and update longstanding obligations related to Title IX coordinator duties, as […]
First launched in April of 2020, the Pass-Through Assistance Program (PTAP) was an important initiative designed to provide mortgage servicers with the liquidity needed to endure the financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As millions of borrowers struggled to meet their mortgage payments, PTAP served as a lifeline, ensuring that servicers could meet their […]
ICE Mortgage Technology will be sunsetting legacy integrations for its flagship Encompass platform by Oct. 31, 2025, which will modernize the mortgage market even if some vendors have to go kicking and screaming. In an email to partners on Tuesday, ICE said that it will be closing down the Encompass SDK (Software Development Kit) on […]
California-based mortgage lender loanDepot appointed Nancy Smith to lead its Colorado and Wyoming branches as regional vice president of in-market retail. Smith will be responsible for growing sales volume in Colorado, which has the sixth-fastest percentage rate of population growth of all states, and Wyoming, a market traditionally underserved by independent mortgage banks, loanDepot said […]
CMG Home Loans, the retail lending division of CMG Financial, recently made a key hire in its reverse mortgage division by adding industry veteran Kari Van Kleef as its operations manager. The move comes as the company broadens its ambitions for the reverse mortgage division, aiming to put its 1,400 traditional mortgage originators to work […]
By this point, the information should be second nature: Aging in place is an increasingly common desire among homeowners who want to save money, avoid costly assisted-living facilities, stay connected to their communities or all of the above. As the preference grows, one group — homebuilders — is uniquely positioned to address these desires and […]
Mortgage rates have declined for six straight weeks, pushing loan application volume up 1.4% during the week ending Sept. 6, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA’s survey — which covers 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the U.S. — found that the seasonally adjusted refinance index increased 1% from the […]
One Washington teacher’s attempt to help one student has turned into something much larger. VOA’s Philip Alexiou has this story of a chess academy for kids. (Camera and produced by: Philip Alexiou) details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today announced additional details of the subsequent beta testing period ahead of making the 2025–26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) available to all students and contributors on or before Dec. 1. Starting today, high schools, community-based organizations (CBOs), institutions of higher education and state entities can submit […]
As the mortgage industry continues to evolve at breakneck speed, risk management has never been a more critical lynchpin in the lending ecosystem. At the vanguard stands Mortgage Connect Risk Solutions (MCRS), formerly Adfitech, a leader in risk management, quality control, third-party reviews, and due diligence, known for protecting mortgage lenders and investors from the […]
Tuesday night’s presidential debate — which could be the only one of this election cycle between the Democratic and Republican nominees for the highest office in the land this November — featured a spate of fiery moments between the two candidates. Housing, which has become an issue of focus in the campaign, was mentioned a […]
In a little more than a week, Federal Reserve policymakers are poised to lower benchmark interest rates for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahead of that decision, mortgage rates continued to decline, although a surge of borrowers has yet to appear. At HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center on Tuesday, the average […]
In a traditional sense, the term “silver tsunami” refers to pent-up housing stock that older homeowners will eventually choose to sell, which would have the effect of flooding the market with new inventory. But if prior suppositions about this trend being overblown failed to convince people, new data might make things clearer. More than half […]
Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, has set ambitious goals to increase market share by 2027 using its multichannel reach, its origination and servicing flywheel, and its advanced technology platform. Rocket aims to double its current market share in purchase mortgages from 4% to 8% and expand its refinance share from 12% to 20%, executives […]
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today awarded $251 million to 27 grantees across the country who are working to ensure individuals with disabilities have access to in-demand, good-paying jobs of the 21st century. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve‘s vice chair for supervision, on Tuesday spoke at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., about the 2023 Basel III Endgame proposal, which would modify risk-based capital requirements for large banks. Following an extensive review process that included stakeholder comments in the intervening time — including what Barr called “productive meetings […]
Mortgage capital markets technology firm Polly has raised $25 million to invest in research and development, product innovation and expansion, the company said on Tuesday. 8VC led the latest equity investment with participation from existing investors Menlo Ventures, Meritech, Khosla Ventures and Fifth Wall. Polly has increased its locked loan volume by more than 150% […]
After several months of searching, Freddie Mac has found a new CEO, announcing on Tuesday the hiring of former PNC Financial Services executive Diana Reid. The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) had been without a permanent CEO since March, when Michael DeVito retired after three years on the job. Michael Hutchins took over the role on an […]
The mortgage industry has complained loudly and often that government regulation and investor requirements are contributing to spiraling costs that get passed on to consumers. And Rohit Chopra, the hard-charging director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, who is often the target of such complaints, apparently agrees. At least when it comes to redundancies with […]
NEW YORK — He had some help: Morgan Wallen tops the 2024 Country Music Association Awards nominations with seven. For a third year in a row, Wallen is up for both the top prize — entertainer of the year — and the male vocalist categories. Rounding out the entertainer of the year categories are Luke Combs, […]
NEW YORK — James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, The Lion King and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93. His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in […]
Last week, Guild Mortgage announced a suite of products under the name “Flex Payment Mortgage.” The brand includes Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) reverse mortgage products alongside refinances, proprietary jumbo options and HECM for Purchase (H4P) loans. After acquiring the robust reverse mortgage division of Cherry Creek Mortgage in early 2023, Guild has used its […]
Better Home & Finance Holding Co., the parent of digital lender Better.com, rolled out its Federal Housing Administration (FHA) streamline refinance program on Monday. The product is available for qualified borrowers with an existing FHA loan who are looking to lower their monthly mortgage payment, reduce their interest rate, shorten their loan term or get […]
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today issued the following statement on President Biden’s intent to nominate Adam Gamoran as Director of the Institute of Education Sciences: details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
Publicly traded real estate software firm reAlpha Tech Corp. added mortgage lending under its umbrella by acquiring mortgage brokerage company Be My Neighbor on Monday. reAlpha agreed to pay Be My Neighbor an aggregate purchase price of up to $6 million. This consists of $1.5 million in cash paid on the closing date, $1.5 million […]