The regulator recently nixed Obama and Biden-era guidance for the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity and apparently reduced staff.

Total mortgage origination volume is forecasted to barely eclipse $2 trillion by the end of the year for the first time since 2022, iEmergent said.

A lapse in the National Flood Insurance Program because of the US government shutdown threatens to snarl home sales in the nation’s riskiest floodplains and leave some homeowners without coverage in the middle of hurricane season.

Growth in multifamily and investment property mortgage originations, the highest risk segments, drove the 6% rise in the National Fraud Index, Cotality said.

Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr said in a speech Thursday that he fears the gradual pace of price increases from tariffs being passed on to consumers may prolong the one-time inflationary effect of the tariffs to the point where it affects consumers’ inflation expectations.

Uneventful Day; MBS Underperform

It’s not uncommon to see MBS outperform their Treasury benchmarks in the run up to a round of weekly Treasury auctions only to underperform when the auction cycle wraps up. That underperformance (or rather, Treasury outperformance) was on full display today with MBS losing about a quarter point while 5yr notes lost about half as much. While bonds are slightly closer to the weaker end of the recent range, they’re still very much inside it.

Market Movement Recap

09:25 AM Moderately weaker so far with 5.0 coupons down 6 ticks (.19) and 10yr yields up 2.6bps at 4.143

11:45 AM flat since last update.  MBS down 6 ticks (.19) and 10yr up 1.9bps at 4.136

01:04 PM Slightly weaker bond auction = slightly weaker response.  MBS down 7 ticks (.22) and 10yr up 2.9bps at 4.146

Equifax will hold costs for scores from FICO rival Vantagescore through 2027 and offer other incentives meant to drive adoption of the alternative metric.

Top Democratic lawmakers are asking the full appeals court to hear a case about the Trump administration’s efforts to fire employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr is warning small banks about the growing threat from fraudsters’ use of AI-generated deepfakes. But he also says AI may be able to help community banks fight fraud more effectively.

New Federal Reserve research reveals that identity theft victims who use extended fraud alerts often see significant and lasting credit improvements.