Mortgage lenders that have excelled at originating refinance loans posted steady and improving originations during the first quarter of 2016 while competitors that are more focused on the purchase-mortgage market generally saw declining production levels. A new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking shows that first-lien mortgage originations totaled an estimated $380.0 billion during the first three months of 2016, down slightly from the fourth quarter of last year. That estimate could change as more information becomes available, especially from major nonbank lenders that have not yet reported first-quarter originations data. Agency indicators were...[Includes two data tables]
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Thanks to rising loan applications and a stronger-than-anticipated start to the second quarter, merger and acquisition activity in the mortgage industry is at muted levels these days, according to investment banking officials. In other words, lenders will continue to “make hay while the sun shines,” believing that current profit margins are just too good right now to consider selling out. It was originally thought...
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s latest monthly report on consumer complaints finds that borrowers who are having a hard time staying current on their mortgages are still having problems with their servicers. The bureau said 51 percent of gripes involved problems homeowners faced when they were unable to make their mortgage payments. Consumers continued...
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Having agreed to pay billions of dollars in damages for underwriting allegedly faulty FHA mortgages, the nation’s megabanks could be pondering a better idea: Creating a portfolio product that accomplishes the same task as a low-downpayment, government-backed loan. According to industry officials who claim to have knowledge of the situation, Wells Fargo and at least one other top-five ranked lender are working on such a concept, but it remains to be seen whether they will ever get there, and if they do, whether such a creation can amass any type of volume. When asked whether Wells was working on an FHA-like portfolio loan, a spokesman did not dismiss...
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The performance of mortgages originated in recent years remains strong, pushing down delinquency rates across loan types. However, liquidation timelines for certain loans have hit new highs recently as servicers continue to work on foreclosing mortgages that went into default years ago. As of the end of March, the overall delinquency rate on mortgages declined to 4.08 percent, according to Black Knight Financial Services. The delinquency rate declined by 12.4 percent compared with March 2015 and is at its lowest point since March 2007. The foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate was...
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The New York State Supreme Court recently reversed a ruling in a foreclosure case, providing a favorable decision for lenders and servicers. New York Community Bank v. Daphne McClendon involved a foreclosure that was initiated in 2012. The mortgage in question was originated in 2008 by AmTrust Bank for $544,000. The note accompanying the mortgage was signed by electronic signature. The borrower challenged...
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The Senate Appropriations Committee last week approved funding for several housing provisions in the government’s Transportation and Housing and Urban Development fiscal year 2017 budget proposal, including FHA technological improvements, while the full Senate passed an amendment to include energy costs in FHA underwriting and appraisals. Approved by a unanimous vote of 30 to 0, the T-HUD budget bill, among other things, would provide federal funding for FHA technological upgrades rather than charge lenders an administrative fee as HUD had proposed. The committee appropriated $13 million in specific funds to improve FHA’s information technology. The proposed per-loan fee charged to lenders was projected...
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Underserved markets will suffer by not allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to retain capital, according to Rep. Mike Capuano, D-MA, who urged the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Treasury Department to re-examine the terms of their conservatorship. Under the current plan, the government-sponsored enterprises are not allowed to build capital and by January 2018 their reserves are expected to be wound down to zero. Capuano said...
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