Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s biweekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon.
-Mortgage industry advocates are warning that fee hikes on credit reporting services could be a significant blow to an already struggling housing market. Mortgage lenders are reporting price increases of up to 50% for 2026 for credit score pulls, the fourth consecutive year of price jumps for the tri-merge credit reports required for most mortgage applications.
-In a letter to federal regulators, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) claimed that reverse mortgages continue to see demand and serve an important role, but claimed that “overly burdensome” processes and upfront costs are making it difficult for seniors to tap their home equity through these programs. Among the suggestions put forward by the MBA are reducing upfront insurance premium costs and nurturing a “robust” counseling process with remote access for prospective borrowers.
-A mortgage fraud indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James was thrown out by a federal judge, and a grand jury declined to reindict her amid a chaotic legal process that started with pressure from President Donald Trump. James led a fraud case against Trump before his reelection that resulted in a $464 judgment (currently under appeal). James was accused of claiming an investment property as a second home on mortgage applications.
-Billionaire Bill Ackman, one of the most vocal proponents of removing the GSEs from conservatorship, appeared to add some more details to that position with a three-part plan that would begin with some immediate moves and end up returning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the stock market. Writing on social media, Ackman said the first step would be acknowledging that the GSEs have repaid their bailout to U.S. taxpayers.
