CFPB finds big jump in mortgage payments and costs due to high rates

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said that higher interest rates have wreaked havoc on the mortgage market, causing monthly payments to skyrocket for new homebuyers while lenders denied more applicants from getting home loans due to insufficient income. In a report Wednesday, the CFPB said that homebuyers paid more in costs and fees to take out a mortgage largely because more than half of all new borrowers are paying upfront fees, or discount points, to lower their mortgage rate. The report was based on 2022 data and does not reflect the even higher mortgage rates that are prevalent today.?

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Home prices grew to record levels in July

U.S. home prices reached new peaks in July, although regional differences remain as to the strength of the markets, a pair of monthly indices reported. The Federal Housing Finance Agency July's index of 409.5 was 0.8% higher than June's. On a year-over-year basis, the index increased by 4.6% from 391.5. This is the high for the seasonally adjusted purchase-only index, which was at 100 for January 1991. Even though the FHFA index has increased every month since August, it is only since the start of 2023 that these gains have been large, with four of the past six months in the range of 0.8%. June's month-to-month gain was revised upward to 0.4%.

DOJ announces $9M settlement with Washington Trust for redlining in Rhode Island

The Department of Justice announced a $9 million settlement and consent order Wednesday with the Westerly, R.I.-based Washington Trust Company to resolve allegations of race-based lending discrimination and redlining in the Ocean State. The DOJ said that from at least 2016 to 2021, Washington Trust engaged in practices that systematically denied lending services to Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island. The complaint also alleged that Washington Trust relied on mortgage loan officers based only in majority-white areas as their main source of lending applications. The DOJ said the bank failed to take any steps to compensate for its lack of presence in Black and Hispanic areas.

Menendez scandal may stymie flood insurance, other Senate Banking business

The indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is an unwelcome wrinkle in the debate to renew flood insurance, and could hold up the work of the Senate Banking Committee in other areas, experts said. Menendez, who was indicted on charges that he took bribes from New Jersey businessmen, remains the No. 3 Democratic lawmaker on the Senate Banking Committee. Several Democratic senators have called for him to resign from the Senate. One of the major concerns with Menendez's continued presence in the Senate is a pending flood insurance program, whose funding runs out Sept. 30.?

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