Sales of agency mortgage servicing rights were up in the second quarter, mostly as a result of heavier coissuance volume, according to an exclusive new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis and ranking. Servicing rights on $129.57 billion of agency mortgages changed hands during the second quarter, up 6.4 percent from the first three months of the year. The data are culled on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities ... [Includes three data charts]

Despite a solid increase in mortgage originations and stable conditions for hedging, commercial banks and savings institutions reported generally lackluster earnings on their mortgage banking operations in the second quarter. A new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of earnings reports from 24 banking organizations tallied $1.98 billion in mortgage banking income for the second quarter. That was down 12.3 percent from the first three months of ... [Includes one data chart]

With originations tepid of late, mortgage banking firms have been holding their payrolls steady, careful not to add overhead in what might prove to be a challenging market for the remainder of 2018. According to figures compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, mortgage banking firms employed 251,600 workers at the end of June, flat compared to the prior month. Companies that fall into the loan brokerage category employed 91,400 full timers at June 30, down 400 positions from May ...

Use of blockchain technology could help increase profits for lenders and servicers in fewer than 10 years, according to Andrew Weiss, a principal at Strategic Mortgage Finance Group. Weiss was an architect of Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter in the 1990s and likened the current skepticism about blockchain to lenders’ lack of faith in automated underwriting before such systems became ubiquitous. “How can any technology replace the years of training and experience ...

Successful homebuyers in the first half of 2018 pointed to large downpayments as one of the factors that helped close the transaction, according to a survey and analysis by realtor.com, a home listing site. More than 1,000 homebuyers who closed on their purchases in the first half of this year were surveyed on behalf of realtor.com, which is a subsidiary of Move and operates with a licensing agreement with the National Association of Realtors. Some 24 percent of respondents ...

Mortgage servicing is lagging behind other financial services in adopting digital capability and it is impairing borrower satisfaction, according to the results of the 2018 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicing Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power. “The challenges the servicers have are the bar keeps rising and expectations rise particularly when it comes to digital interaction,” said Craig Martin, senior director of the mortgage practice at J.D. Power. “The majority of consumers coming in or ...

Mortgage environments run by artificial intelligence? Not yet – but close. Artificial intelligence and automation are helping mortgage servicers streamline servicing and reduce costs but may be costing some humans their jobs, according to analysts with Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings team. However, there is no cause for alarm because human power remains vital to the mortgage process. The day AI completely takes over mortgage servicing is still very far off, analysts said ...

The GSEs posted a combined net profit of $6.96 billion for the second quarter, with Fannie accounting for the lion’s share having earned $4.46 billion. The combined number is down slightly from the $7.19 billion recorded for the first quarter. Fannie Mae’s chief financial officer, Dave Benson, attributed the 4.6 percent quarterly increase partly to higher credit-related income. [Includes one data chart.]

The White House, according to industry insiders, has formed a small search team to help pick a successor to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt, whose tenure at the agency is imperiled because of recent sexual harassment allegations levied against him by an employee.Watt’s five-year term is scheduled to end in early January 2019, but it’s possible he might be forced from the position much sooner or decide to step down on his own. The 72-year-old regulator – a former Democratic Congressman from North Carolina – has declined to discuss the matter, but issued a statement through the FHFA’s public relations department saying he’s “confident that the investigation currently in progress will ...

Fannie Mae’s CEO Timothy Mayopoulos is leaving his post by the end of this year after being with the GSE since 2009. Fannie announced his departure last week along with a new leadership structure. Mayopoulos became CEO in 2012 after being promoted from chief administrative officer and general counsel. He will remain on board until the end of 2018 and work with the board of directors to make sure the transition is seamless. During his tenure, Fannie has been profitable each year. “For Fannie Mae, it has been a decade of reform and fundamental change.