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Inside Mortgage Finance

May 5, 2016

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Second-Tier Servicers and Nonbanks Continue Claiming Bigger Slice of Mortgage Servicing Market

Although several high-profile, publicly traded nonbank servicers are having a tough time turning a profit, non-depository institutions continued to build market share in mortgage servicing during the first quarter of 2016, a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking reveals. On the whole, mortgage servicing is somewhat stagnant. The top 50 servicers as of the end of March managed a combined portfolio of $7.266 trillion, down very slightly from the previous quarter. Servicing tied to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities managed a humble 0.2 percent gain in the first quarter, and the non-agency MBS market is still in the doldrums. It remains...[Includes two data tables] Read More

CFPB Relents, TRID 2.0 Coming This Summer As Industry Prepares its Wish List for Changes

After months of public and private criticism and pressure – and perhaps some behind-the-scenes button holing – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to yield to the clamoring about its integrated disclosure rule and come out with another rulemaking perhaps as early as late July that will provide “greater certainty and clarity.” Late last week, in a letter to various industry trade groups, CFPB Director Richard Cordray acknowledged that the implementation of the TRID rule poses many operational challenges and is “particularly challenging because of the diversity of the participants” in the industry. He also said... Read More

Share Prices of Several Top-Ranked Lenders Are in the Tank, Which Bodes Poorly for the Mortgage IPO Market

When it comes to stock price performance, it’s been an ugly year so far in 2016 for most of the nation’s publicly traded nonbanks, especially if their names happen to be Nationstar Mortgage, Ocwen Financial, PHH Corp. and Walter Investment Management Corp. And you might as well throw Stonegate Mortgage into that club as well. According to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, these five firms have seen declines in their stock prices – as measured against their highs for the past year – ranging from 52.3 percent (Nationstar) to 82.1 percent (Ocwen). Two other nonbanks whose share prices haven’t suffered as much are...[Includes one data table] Read More

Some Nonprime/Non-QM Lenders Get Right With TRID and Expect to Double Production This Year

Like the rest of the industry, the small but growing nonprime sector has struggled with the integrated disclosure rule known as TRID, but for the most part such lenders have adjusted and are now seeing a noticeable increase in both applications and production. At least that’s the view of two of the largest players in the market: Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, Atlanta, and Citadel Servicing Corp., Irvine, CA. Each firm now expects to fund between $800 million and $850 million this year. They did... Read More

House Passes Bill Encouraging Use of Private Flood Insurance; Requiring GSEs to ‘Accept Flood Insurance’ Raises Concerns

The House of Representatives last week unanimously approved legislation that would require federal agencies to accept private flood insurance for residential properties if it complies with state insurance laws and regulations. Approved by a vote of 419-0, H.R. 2901, the Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act, would remove regulatory barriers and clarify Congress’ intent to encourage the use of private flood insurance to compete with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Specifically, the bill lifts certain federal restrictions placed on insurance companies and gives states more flexibility to license and regulate private flood insurance. Under current law, homeowners are limited... Read More

Lenders Pushing for House Vote on Bill Helping LOs Move From Banks to Nonbanks, Mortgage Brokers Raise Concerns

Lenders and mortgage brokers are at odds over a House bill that would make it easier for loan originators to leave jobs at depository institutions and go to work for nonbank lenders. The Mortgage Bankers Association is pushing for a vote in the House on H.R. 2121, the SAFE Transitional Licensing Act of 2015. The bill was approved by the House Financial Services Committee in March on a 56-0 vote. The unanimous bipartisan support for the bill was fairly rare and suggested strong prospects for the legislation to move forward. However, a vote in the House has yet... Read More

Nonbank Servicers Increase HAMP Share, Prompting More Calls for Greater Regulation

The rising role of nonbanks in the Home Affordable Modification Program along with a perceived lack of oversight has a HAMP watchdog calling for greater regulation of nonbank servicers. Nonbank servicers currently handle the majority of loans in HAMP, a shift from the early years of the federal program when the majority of mortgages were serviced by large banks. In a report released last week, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program noted... Read More

GSEs Dodge Treasury Draw Despite Freddie Loss and Sharp Drop in Fannie Net Income

An unanticipated decline in interest rates soured the hedging bets placed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the first quarter of 2016, leading to sharply lower net income at the two government-sponsored enterprises. The two GSEs booked a combined $7.37 billion in net derivative losses for the first quarter that nearly washed out income from their core businesses. Since 2012, when the two GSEs became profitable again, they have booked huge $23.46 billion in hedging losses. “As we’ve said for over a year now, our quarterly financial results are... Read More

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