The deal will create liquidity for the lender's shareholders while giving the distillery access to the mortgage company's sales tools, the firms said.

Growth in housing costs should slow down over the next two years, but projections for 2024 were revised upward in a Fannie Mae survey of experts.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said he's seen enough data to be comfortable with a rate cut at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting later this month.

After hikes pinched profits across the industry, a move in the opposite direction could be the start of a more promising trend. But bankers caution that the immediate effects of a September rate cut figure to be small.

Other estimates suggest nonbank mortgage employment grew in July as the industry cautiously added staff to handle incremental growth in demand for loans.