Mortgage rates reach 2025 low despite inflation surge
While Freddie Mac’s weekly survey showed 30-year rates falling, other indicators paint a mixed picture for mortgage lenders and borrowers.
Foreclosure filings rise in January, but is it just seasonality?
Foreclosure filings increased 7% in January from December, which could be a housing market starting to experience trouble, or a post-holiday return to normal.
Corporate Transparency Act enforcement needs an overhaul
The rule requiring businesses to report their beneficial ownership is deeply flawed. Enforcement should be suspended until it can be revised to place fewer burdens on law-abiding people and companies.
FDIC likely subject to EO on federal workforce reduction
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and other independent agencies will likely need to identify positions not explicitly required by law under a new Trump administration executive order aimed at downsizing the federal workforce.
JPMorgan Chase reopens branch in fire-ravaged LA community
For the first time since the Eaton Fire erupted more than a month ago, Altadena has a bank branch that’s open for business.
HFSC will hold hearing after new CFPB director confirmation
A House Financial Services Committee spokesperson said the committee will hold its required semiannual hearing with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director after nominee Jonathan McKernan is confirmed rather than with interim director Russell Vought.
Western Union cuts off Cuba; crypto draws global bulls
The money-transfer company’s move came after the U.S. State Department last week renewed sanctions against the island nation. That, plus Klarna and Standard Chartered get bullish on crypto; Trump’s not the first politician to rail at pennies; and other international payments and fintech news.
Citi’s Sieg: New clients take backseat to getting more from current
Citi’s head of wealth said the firm is already working with a quarter of the billionaires in the world through its private bank. Now it just needs them to entrust it with managing more of their money.
El-Erian sees Fed holding rates for longer than markets expect
The Federal Reserve is set to refrain from cutting interest rates for “quite a while,” following a hotter-than-expected inflation report, according to Mohamed El-Erian.
SEC’s Peirce says agency wants new approach to crypto
Hester Pierce, a Republican SEC appointee, said industry watchdogs had previously been practicing regulation by enforcement with digital assets.