Most of the 20% surge in refinance business likely came from rate-term transactions rather than cash-out deals. First-timers held up slightly better than re-peat buyers.
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In one of the largest M&A deals of the year, Freedom has agreed to buy RoundPoint Mortgage but details are hard to come by, including the issue of debt assumption. Meanwhile, industry advisors fear that declining interest rates might put other transactions on hold.
Former investment banker and Freddie Mac executive Bruce Witherell has parted ways with Promontory MortgagePath, a vendor owned by Eugene Ludwig, who once headed the OCC. Witherell is currently fielding offers.
States proposed standards in 2015 to increase oversight of nonbank lenders and servicers but didn’t act to finalize them. The new chairman of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors is making the issue a priority.
The bureau's latest regulatory agenda includes plans to address the fate of the qualified mortgage "patch," but drops items regarding the use of disparate-impact theory in fair lending laws.
As HECM originations continue to decline, a Congressional Budget Office study analyzes four options for reducing the cost of future government guarantees on reverse mortgage loans.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week fined mortgage servicer BSI Financial Services, Irving, TX, just over $230,000 for illegal mortgage servicing practices. A new consent order from the agency lays out the details.