Private mortgage insurers reported heavy losses and rising default rates again in the third quarter, with little evidence that the industry most exposed to the housing swoon is beginning to find any solid footing. Two of the seven private MIs – United Guaranty and Triad – have not yet reported third-quarter earnings. But the remaining... [Includes one chart and one graph]
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Residential Capital reported its eighth consecutive quarterly loss this week and the company’s beleaguered parent, GMAC Financial Services, was reportedly among the growing number of companies seeking a capital infusion from the Treasury’s expanding Troubled Asset Relief Program. “Adverse market conditions have made it difficult for ResCap to maintain adequate capital and liquidity...
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After the Federal Bureau of Investigations lassoed hundreds of individuals connected to mortgage fraud activities earlier this year, the industry has been on the offense working to beef up its fraud detection efforts. In an effort to keep up with this industry wide trend, Fannie Mae started releasing monthly updates detailing new fraudulent schemes and statistics. In its initial July/August...
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Under pressure from mortgage securities investors, Ginnie Mae is considering new policies designed to slow the pace of loans being repurchased from MBS pools by mortgage servicers. The Mortgage Bankers Association is urging the agency to move cautiously with any such change since servicer buyouts are an important mechanism for controlling costs with defaulted loans – including loss mitigation...
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The boost in FHA lending has resulted in increased revenue – and potentially higher costs – for mortgage servicers, but the production side of the mortgage banking business doesn’t appear to be getting any such boost in profitability. “We basically make about the same thing that we make off a conventional loan,” said Doug Walker, assistant vice president of sales at Churchill Mortgage...
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Taking a proactive approach to business management by using technology to improve operations and prevent unnecessary losses may be critical to helping lenders survive the most daunting mortgage market in decades. Del Mar DataTrac, a San Diego-based company specializing in providing the mortgage industry with technology to improve business, says its BusinessTrac product may be just the...
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Still-rising loan default rates and growing investor demands that faulty loans be repurchased are putting increased strain on mortgage lenders. According to Freddie Mac, in the first six months of 2008, lenders repurchased $737 million of single-family mortgages from the government-sponsored enterprise during the first half of 2008, more than double the...
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With many household names in the mortgage industry being forced out of business, the final quarter of 2008 doesn’t seem like the most auspicious time to launch a new mortgage lending operation. But former executives from Ditech.com are doing just that, based on a no-frills approach that promises lenders the lowest rate available. Based in Scottsdale, AZ, but operating strictly on the Internet...
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