At recent conferences I’ve attended, including here in Atlanta at the Loan Vision Innovation Conference, talk of federal government partisanship, posturing, and shutdowns has crept into discussions. Lenders would definitely be impacted, and this month’s STRATMOR piece is titled, “No Lender Wants a Government Shutdown, but Just in Case…”. Accurately measuring and monitoring business and trends is always a focus, and interestingly, the number of foreign buyers buying homes in the U.S. has risen. Speaking of which, in the real estate world, brokerage giant Compass is set to become the largest residential real estate firm in the world after announcing a deal to acquire major rival Anywhere for $1.6 billion. Compass, which also operates Christie’s, will take control of Anywhere’s subsidiary brands, including Century 21, Sotheby’s, and Coldwell Banker. The all-stock deal values the combined companies at roughly $10 billion and will create what is by far the largest residential real estate brokerage in the world. One industry vet wrote to me saying, “If one company owned 67 percent of all the fuel oil in the U.S., or a bank controlled 67 percent of all deposits, I’m guessing the DOJ might ask questions, right?” (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s podcasts are sponsored by BeSmartee, the most innovative mortgage technology platform for banks, credit unions, and non-bank mortgage lenders. Hear an interview with FutureWave Finance’s Steve Thomas on the capital markets landscape, focusing on mortgage rate dynamics, policy transmission, shifting market share between CFIs and non-banks, and the impact of demographic trends amid a pause in product innovation.)

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, PNC Bank, N.A. and others announced a decrease in its prime lending rate to 7.25 percent, effective today, Sept. 18. As expected, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut the overnight Fed Funds rate by .250. Stephen Miran, who was sworn in just before the two-day policy meeting and is remaining a White House employee for the duration of his stint at the Fed (much to the concern of those wanting an independent Federal Reserve) was the lone dissent among Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) participants, instead favoring a 50-basis-point reduction. Mr. Miran has echoed President Trump’s criticisms of the central bank and called for cheaper borrowing rates. “Rob, I heard a presenter saying that U.S. citizens are saving no money whatsoever. What are you hearing?” I would say that statement is misleading and sensationalist and generalized. Savings vary through different periods of our lives, and different classes save differently. The Fed has a nice graph showing that, aside from COVID when we were hoarding toilet paper and watching Tiger King five years ago, we’re around 5 percent, which is roughly where we’ve been historically. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by CreditXpert. The all-new credit optimization platform that helps you close more loans. CreditXpert is committed to making homeownership more accessible and affordable for ALL. Today’s features an interview with Indecomm’s Rajan Nair on the risks of falling behind in innovation, whether AG(entic)I hype distracts from present issues, and the growing concern over technology power being concentrated in the hands of a few.)