Fed holds rates steady with most dissent since 1992

🍻 Welcome to Friday — and hello, May!

Today’s newsletter is 640 words, a 2.5-minute read.

1. Fed holds rates steady with most dissent since 1992 — and Powell isn't leaving

The Fed voted 8-4 to hold the benchmark rate at 3.5%-3.75% Wednesday, in what was likely Jerome Powell's final meeting as chair.

• The four dissents, the most since October 1992, came from different directions: Governor Stephen Miran wanted a cut, while regional presidents Hammack, Kashkari, and Logan opposed any language suggesting future rate cuts were coming.

Powell announced he will remain on the Board of Governors after his chairmanship ends May 15, blocking Trump from filling the vacancy. "The things that have happened in the last three months left me no choice," Powell said, citing what he called unprecedented legal attacks on Fed independence. He did promise to "keep a low profile" as governor.

2. UWM rolls out dual-score option with VantageScore

UWM announced that brokers using its no-cost credit reports will automatically receive both FICO and VantageScore 4.0 scores for conventional loans, letting them pick whichever model best fits the borrower's profile.

Loans are capped at 80% loan-to-value for this offering. A 20-point adjustment is applied to the VantageScore used in underwriting. In some cases, borrowers who already qualify under FICO could get better loan-level pricing if their VantageScore is higher.

The move follows last week's FHFA announcement greenlighting VantageScore 4.0 for Fannie and Freddie loans, with HUD also moving to adopt both models for FHA in the coming months.

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3. More Nuggets

💳 Better partners with Stripe to launch home equity card. (Finsider)

🏡 Rising rates pushed mortgage payments higher in March. (MBA)

💰 ICE reports record revenue of $3B, profit of $1.4B in Q1 2026. (HousingWire)

📰 Mortgage rates are not random. (Stratmor)

📊 Inflation hit 3.5 percent in March as Iran war drove prices higher. (The Hill)

4. Castlelake and Redwood Trust form $8B jumbo mortgage joint venture

Castlelake and Redwood Trust have partnered to purchase up to $8 billion in prime jumbo mortgages, with Redwood's Sequoia platform sourcing and vetting loans while Castlelake provides institutional buying power.

Sequoia's loan acquisition volume more than doubled over the past year as banks pulled back from mortgage exposure. Since 1994, the platform has purchased roughly $100 billion in loans and securitized more than $50 billion.

Castlelake, a Brookfield strategic partner, manages about $36 billion in assets and has acquired or financed more than $10 billion in residential and commercial loans since 2024.

5. Homeowners insurance premiums are up 64%

A new analysis of 1.2 million serviced mortgages found the national average annual premium climbed from $1,597 at end of 2021 to $2,625 by end of 2025. Growth is slowing — 10% in 2025 was the lowest annual increase in four years — but at a much higher baseline.

• The regional picture is stark. Louisiana tops the list at $4,238 annually, followed by Florida at $4,060 and Texas at $3,952. At the metro level, Miami averages $5,546 per year. Arizona saw the biggest jump since 2021 at 94%.

Because insurance flows through escrow, these increases show up directly in monthly payments — tightening DTI and in some cases killing deals.

☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Monday!

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