Spending by political action committees sponsored by mortgage-banking organizations has surged to an all-time high in the 2005-06 election cycle, despite the fact that it’s a midterm federal campaign. According to the...[Includes 2 charts]
Read More
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac turned to an unlikely source of new business to boost their mortgage-backed securities guaranty business during the third quarter, according to a new analysis based on the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. Both government-sponsored enterprises saw...[Includes a chart and a 2 page pdf]
Read More
A slowing housing market can provide incentives for mortgage industry consolidation, but executives managing potentially attractive medium and large institutions may be reluctant to sell because of low valuations for their firms. “If you look at what mortgage firms are trading for now, they are trading at a...
Read More
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is banking on a new securitization program to fuel growth in the FHA home equity conversion mortgage program – the agency’s one product that is leading the market and growing. “The HECM program is clearly...
Read More
A slowing housing market and a refinance business that now relies on equity cash-out transactions dampened mortgage originations in 2006, increasing competition and squeezing industry profitability. And most observers expect more of the same in 2007. The consensus forecast among...
Read More
After the Mortgage Bankers Association absorbed a much smaller trade group focused on the subprime lending industry, industry speculation turned to the prospects of the MBA joining forces with the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. But sources say there has been no preliminary courtship between...
Read More
Ameriquest Mortgage was the top producer of subprime mortgages in 2005, according to a new analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports. Ameriquest originated $57.64 billion of loans that were either classified as rate-spread loans – requiring the reporting of pricing information under...[Includes a 2 page pdf]
Read More