Lending

ABA: Farm Bank Report Shows Ag Lending Up 6 Percent in 2017

Strong performance, asset quality and capital levels in 2017 U.S farm banks increased agricultural lending by nearly 6 percent, or $5.9 billion, to $106 billion in 2017, according to the American Bankers Association’s annual Farm Bank Performance Report. Asset quality remained healthy at the nation’s 1,847 farm banks as non-performing loans fell to a pre-recession…

FHFA: Progress Report on the 2017 Scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Progress Report today summarizing the 2017 activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) to further FHFA’s three strategic objectives as conservator: Maintain, Reduce, and Build. The Report describes efforts taken by the Enterprises during 2017 to address factors limiting access to mortgage credit for creditworthy…

ABA: 6 Tips for Your Financial Spring Cleaning

As Americans kick off the spring season by cleaning, sorting and tidying up around the house, the American Bankers Association is encouraging consumers to add financial organization to their spring cleaning to-do list. To help, ABA has highlighted six tips for organizing your financial house. “People are motivated to get things done when the weather…

HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report for February 2018

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for February 2018: New Home Sales Sales of new single-family houses in February 2018 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 618,000. This is 0.6 percent (±13.3 percent)* below the revised January…

SBA: Vancouver Business Owner Named 2018 SBA Washington State Veteran-Owned Business of the Year

Tony Curtis of Current Home Technologies Takes Top Honors, Celebration to Recognize All Local SBA Award Winners May 3 The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 2018 Washington State Veteran-Owned Business of the Year is Tony Curtis, owner of Current Home Technologies in Vancouver, Washington.  Founded in 2008, Current Home Technologies specializes in custom residential design…

FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Increased in February 2018

Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages increased from January to February, 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 4.28 percent for loans closed in late February, up 16 basis points from 4.12 percent in January….

FHFA: Report Shows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Foreclosure Preventions Surpass 4 Million

Hurricanes Impact Delinquency Rate The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its fourth quarter Foreclosure Prevention Report, which shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 67,569 foreclosure prevention actions in the fourth quarter of 2017, bringing the total number of homeowners helped to 4,040,258 since the start of the conservatorships in…

CFPB: 4 Tips to Spring Clean Your Finances

By Liane Weissenberger Spring is here, and it’s the perfect time to get your home and your finances in order. Here are a few ways to get started spring cleaning your finances: 1. Request a free credit report You can request a free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major consumer…

HUD and Census Bureau: Residential Construction Activity Report February 2018

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for February 2018. Building Permits:  Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,298,000. This is 5.7 percent (±0.7 percent) below the revised…

OCC: Report Shows Mortgage Performance Data Unchanged in Fourth Quarter 2017

Performance of first-lien mortgages remained largely unchanged during the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with a year earlier, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) quarterly report on mortgages. The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Fourth Quarter 2017, showed 94.5 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at…