CFIB: Identity Theft Protection Following the Equifax Data Breach
By Kristin Dohn Millions of Americans have been impacted by the recent Equifax data breach. Whether or not your personal information has been stolen, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your credit. What is identity theft, and what can you do? Sometimes criminals who steal data use it to engage in…
Federal Reserve: Improving the 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage
FEDS (Finance and Economics Discussion Series) 2017-90 | August 2017 Wayne Passmore and Alexander H. von Hafften Abstract: The 30-year fixed-rate fully amortizing mortgage (or “traditional fixed-rate mortgage”) was a substantial innovation when first developed during the Great Depression. However, it has three major flaws. First, because homeowner equity accumulates slowly during the first decade,…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Decreased in July 2017
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from June to July, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts. The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 3.99 percent for loans closed in late July, down 1 basis point from 4.00 percent in June….
SBA: Administrator Addresses Federal Regulatory Reform; Small Businesses Encouraged to Comment on SBA Regulations
Administrator Linda McMahon, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, today encouraged small businesses to comment on the Federal Register notice posted earlier this month. The notice is in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 13777 which aims to ease the burdens placed on America’s small businesses. Under this Executive Order all federal agencies are…
CFPB: Things to Consider before Borrowing a Reverse Mortgage to Delay Collecting Social Security
For most people, the amount of money you bring in each month decreases after you retire. Yet your expenses, particularly for health care, may not follow suit. So the question on the minds of many approaching this life stage is: how do I replace or supplement my monthly income when I retire? The most obvious…
CFPB: Report Warns that Taking out a Reverse Mortgage Loan can be an Expensive Way to Maximize Social Security Benefits
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today issued a report warning older consumers about taking out a reverse mortgage loan in order to bridge the gap in income while delaying Social Security benefits until a later age. The CFPB report found, in general, the costs and risks of taking out a reverse mortgage…
Federal Reserve: Revised Interagency Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Sampling, Verification and Resubmission Procedures
The Task Force on Consumer Compliance of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) recently developed the attached interagency Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA)1 Examiner Transaction Testing Guidelines that include sampling, verification, and resubmission procedures for use in connection with HMDA data collected beginning on January 1, 2018 pursuant to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s…