For a while there, it seemed about as likely as finding a unicorn in a haystack, but now it's confirmed. Mortgage finance companies (MFCs) can accept uninsured straight switches qualified at the contract rate. One of the nation's largest MFCs, First National, announced the move on

There's speculation in lending circles that Monday's Fall Economic Statement might include one or more mortgage policy updates. Lenders have been hoping for two specific default insurance tweaks:

💡See also: • This Week in Rateland • The Value Zone At last, the fog has lifted. We now know our bank regulator's stance regarding whether federally regulated mortgage investors, also known as bank dealers or "aggregators," can purchase non-stress-tested uninsured switches from non-federally regulated lenders. This revelation

💡See also: Mortgage Bytes (below) The bank regulator's axing of the mortgage stress test on uninsured switches was a win for consumers—but so far, only a partial win. OSFI has definitively confirmed that the stress test exemption "does not apply to straight [uninsured] mortgage switches from