This is the fourth settlement MV Realty reached in the last two months over its controversial homeownership benefits program, which is now illegal in 33 states.

The Canadian-American bank’s first AI agent does the work of gathering any missing documents and verifying data for mortgage applications.

Deephaven expanded its HELOC product for wholesale lenders, Attom launched an AVM model and First American added an AI assistant to its title platform.

A report from the Financial Stability Board said limited transparency in the private credit market makes it difficult for regulators to monitor and understand risks, potentially masking challenges to the financial system.

Mortgage payments climbed to a 10-month high in April as rates rose, but strong annual wage growth of 5.3% helped keep the MBA’s affordability index nearly flat month to month.

Spoiler Alert: Yes, It Was War Headlines

Need a way to explain overnight weakness in the bond market? War headlines. Need to know why bonds rallied sharply just after 10am ET to hit the best levels in 2 weeks? Yep, more war headlines. Granted, the 8:30am econ data was not completely ignored. A slightly softer-than-expected PCE inflation number helped bonds get back to unchanged levels, but a substantial majority of the day’s volume followed the 10am news that essentially suggested the peace deal was approved, pending Trump’s final sign off. Later in the day, separate newswires suggested Iran hadn’t fully signed off, but no one seemed to care. Day over day gains were mild in the bigger picture, but resulted in the best trading levels in 2 weeks by the 3pm close. 

Econ Data / Events

Continued Claims (May)/16

1786.0K vs 1780K f’cast, 1782K prev

Core CapEx (Apr)

-1.1% vs 0.4% f’cast, 3.4% prev

Core PCE (m/m) (Apr)

0.2% vs 0.3% f’cast, 0.3% prev

Core PCE (y/y) (Apr)

3.3% vs 3.3% f’cast, 3.2% prev

Core PCE Prices QoQQ1

4.4% vs 4.3% f’cast, 2.7% prev

Corporate profitsQ1

-0.4% vs 5.7% f’cast, 5.7% prev

Durable goods (Apr)

7.9% vs 3.5% f’cast, 0.8% prev

GDPQ1

1.6% vs 2.0% f’cast, 0.5% prev

GDP Final SalesQ1

1.5% vs 1.6% f’cast, 0.3% prev

Jobless Claims (May)/23

215.0K vs 211K f’cast, 209K prev

PCE (y/y) (Apr)

3.8% vs 3.8% f’cast, 3.5% prev

PCE prices (m/m) (Apr)

0.4% vs 0.5% f’cast, 0.7% prev

Market Movement Recap

08:19 AM Weaker overnight on reports of ongoing hostilities in Iran. MBS down over an eighth of a point and 10yr up 2.3bps at 4.507

09:17 AM Back near unchanged after data-driven rally. MBS down 1 tick (.03) and 10yr down half a bp at 4.479

10:59 AM quick rally on “deal” reports and a bit of pull back on “yeah but” reports. MBS up 2 ticks (.06) and 10yr down 2.4bps at 4.46

01:02 PM Near best levels. MBS up 5 ticks (.16) and 10yr down 3.4bps at 4.45

There’s a supertanker load of data this morning with some apparently interesting results, but the market remains focused primarily on supertankers being able to transport oil. Those prospects were dealt a fresh blow overnight as both sides reported renewed attacks. Bond yields and oil prices jumped clearly in response, but not in an overly aggressive fashion. And to be fair to this morning’s data, it has actually been up to the task of helping yields drop about 2bps back to unchanged levels. Primary credit would have to go to lower than expected monthly PCE prices. Even though PCE is trending in the wrong direction, the monthly rate came in at 0.4 vs 0.5 forecasts and 0.7 previously.

Any time PCE comes out, there’s some buzz on the implications of earnings versus inflation. This time around, the temptation is to conclude that lower personal income cannot support inflation-adjusted spending. And while there’s no doubt that lower income inhibits spending that would otherwise be seen, longer term data and bigger-picture numbers suggest we shouldn’t count on it as some mythical inflation-fighting hero.

What is something that small and mid-sized lenders can’t offer? Chase rolled out a program for borrowers to earn 100,000 Chase Points. (Bilt and UWM rolled out something similar a while back.) But, nearly every lender can help borrowers with the cost of a mortgage, and STRATMOR’s current blog is “Pricing That Can Help Borrowers.” In addition, in the credit world two new automated features for the FICO Score Mortgage Simulator were announced yesterday designed to help lenders move beyond manual “what-if” credit simulations and generate personalized borrower action plans more efficiently. The program “automates credit action planning for borrowers based on target score goals or budget, offers early score potential estimates, and is built directly on the mortgage FICO Scores used in lending decisions (FICO Scores 2, 4 and 5). (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by NFTYDoor, the white-label HELOC platform for banks, credit unions, and brokers. Close in zero days with warehouse funding. Power your home equity lending with NFTYDoor. Today’s features an interview with Sagent’s Sridhar Sharma and Shane Leonard on how the latest and greatest in underwriting technology is reducing friction in the mortgage origination process.) Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services “500 loans or 50,000. You get the same elite servicing platform. At MSF Servicing, no portfolio is too big or too small. That’s because we’ve eliminated the minimum loan count requirements that leave smaller servicers locked out of top-tier platforms. Whether you’re managing 500 loans or 50,000, you’ll have access to the same experienced team, the same state-of-the-art technology, and the same high-touch level of service, with no thresholds, no gatekeeping, and no compromises. Our servicing platform was purpose-built to scale without sacrificing quality. Boutique relationships and complex portfolios run on the same infrastructure that grows as you do. Finally, your borrowers will love the MSF mobile app, which delivers real-time account access, seamless payment tracking, and intuitive self-service, on their schedule. All backed by a dedicated borrower portal and multilingual support in 200+ languages that enhances your brand at every touchpoint. For more information, contact Rick Smith (860-989-9006).

We were close yesterday and we officially arrived today. Mortgage rates may still be elevated compared to almost all of the past 10 months, but they’re the lowest they’ve been since May 14th.  This was accomplished with a modest drop versus yesterday’s levels after another round of news on a potential U.S./Iran peace deal. This morning’s inflation data also helped the underlying bond market find its footing. In terms of nuts and bolts, top tier 30yr fixed rates fell to 6.59% for the average lender, down from 6.61% yesterday and from 6.75% last Tuesday. [thirtyyearmortgagerates]

June could be the true test for delinquencies and how many distressed borrowers impacted by a shift in Federal Housing Administration rules will reperform.