(RECAP: Nonbank’s share of Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgages crossed $1 trillion for the first time in November 2016, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. The news, while positive for nonbanks, is causing some in the industry to question the consequences nonbanks face if the industry undergoes any future stress. A study from 2015 by a senior fellow and a researcher at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School posted that the nonbank market share of agency buy mortgage originations was growing at an astronomical pace, moving from 27% in mid-2012 to 48% in late 2014. The article gave an update on the situation, stating that in the first three quarters of 2016, banks accounted for 9% of mortgage dollars originated by the FHA’s top 50 lenders, versus 62% for all of 2010.)

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(RECAP: Secretary of HUD nominee Ben Carson said at his confirmation hearing, “Certainly, if confirmed, I am going to work with the FHA administrator and other financial experts to really examine that policy.” He was talking about an earlier announcement from the current HUD head that FHA insurance rates were going to be cut. On January 12, when Carson made that remark, most everyone viewed it as a throw-away line. Now not so much. As background, on January 9, current HUD Secretary Castro announced a 25-basis point cut in the annual premium charged for FHA insurance. The reduction, scheduled to go into effect on January 27, would return FHA annual premiums nearly back to where they were before a crisis in the FHA insurance fund caused substantial hikes in both the annual and the upfront premiums. A press release today from the Mortgage Bankers Association says, “Based on recent testimony and political pushback, we believe there is a strong chance the most recent MIP reduction… may be one of the rollback actions taken soon after President Trump takes office.” MBA says it expects this change will be effective immediately and “could make significant operational challenges for lenders and their customers.” The association urged its members to prepare to unwind any changes they have already made to adjust for the new rates if the delay, in fact, occurs.)

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(RECAP: The U.S. economy is closing in on the Federal Reserve’s goals, giving the central bank impetus to start reducing the extreme levels of support it has provided over the past decade, Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech Wednesday. After more than a decade of benefiting from historically aggressive easing measures, the economy is “close” to the Fed’s objectives, though policy removal is expected to be slow, Yellen said in San Francisco. The speech, to the Commonwealth Club, essentially served as a monetary policy primer, though she did drop some hints about the road ahead.)

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