Industry observers had hoped that signs of improving mortgage performance in early 2010 would lead to a stronger recovery for the rest of the year, but a mixed bag of new indicators suggests servicers and credit enhancers are in for a long uphill slog against a stubborn combination of weak economic conditions and sluggish housing markets... [Includes one chart and one graph]
Read More
Although actual repurchase and indemnification activity appeared to ease somewhat in early 2010 and mortgage default rates have stabilized, the industry continues to spend significant resources trying to resolve these issues. “Lawsuits involving repurchase demands are up,” said Justin Vedder, principal and executive vice president at the Prieston Group, during a recent Webinar sponsored...
Read More
Being prepared in advance can go a long way to help lenders defend themselves against mortgage repurchase or indemnification demands, industry attorneys say. One key is to assess the legal standing of the party that’s demanding the buyback, according to a paper written by James Shields and Bart Higgins, of the law firm of Shields, Britton & Fraser, based in Plano, TX...
Read More
The largest sellers to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw the guarantee fees they paid last year drop somewhat more, on a percentage basis, than the g-fees paid by the smallest sellers did, according to data released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The mid-size sellers saw their g-fees drop the most, even as their volume remained flat, the FHFA data indicate...
Read More
Bank of America said it had wrongly recorded approximately $10.7 billion in repurchase and securities lending transactions as sales during the past three years, although the error was not material, intentional or related to any fraud. Responding back in May to a Securities and Exchange Commission request for a more detailed explanation...
Read More
“Smart” online mortgage lending looks like it’s about to go mainstream. Once limited to forward-thinking early adopters, now nearly three-fourths of mortgage lending institutions surveyed recently plan to offer borrowers such an option soon, seeing its superior customer service potential as a competitive advantage.According to new research by New York-based Lieberman...
Read More
Wells Fargo’s announcement that it is closing all 638 branches of its Wells Fargo Financial consumer finance division makes perhaps the biggest stride in a growing trend for large banks – the right-sizing of branch-based networks that were popular during the mortgage lending heyday. Wells said in early July that it plans to eliminate 2,800 positions by the end of September and...
Read More
Redwood Shores, CA-based Communication Intelligence Corp., a supplier of electronic signature solutions for business process automation, and LenderLive Network Inc., a provider of... Pleasanton, CA-based Ellie Mae announced a new pricing structure available to customers that use its Encompass360 Mortgage Management Solution Banker Edition...
Read More