Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s weekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it each Friday afternoon.
–Rates remain stuck above 7% this week, despite a small decrease, with the 30-year fixed averaging 7.18%, according to Freddie Mac.
-As China’s closely watched real estate crisis unfolds, banks are lowering existing mortgage rates and offering new incentives for buyers as Beijing seeks to stave off a potentially catastrophic property crash—which has the potential to affect global markets.
–Former employees of Chicago-based Change Lending have been questioned about the company’s disclosures around loans to Black and Hispanic families, according to Barron’s. The lender, one of the “most active” Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) in the country, according to the Washington Post, said it was not aware of any ongoing investigations.
-California-based Guild Mortgage announced that they have acquired Illinois-based First Centennial Mortgage. The deal is only the latest in a string of pickups by Guild, according to National Mortgage News, as the company expands its footprint nationally.
–The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted to approve a takeover of Black Knight by Intercontinental Exchange, despite concerns that the merger would stymie competition. The approval was conditioned on Black Knight’s divestiture of two of its businesses and several products, according to the FTC, as well as the companies agreeing to additional oversight.
–The Department of Justice announced its eighth major settlement with a lender since launching a “combatting redlining” initiative in 2021. A proposed consent order would force the American Bank of Oklahoma, which is accused of avoiding majority Black and Hispanic areas, to pay $1.15 million and invest thousands more in underserved communities.
