Internet retail giant Amazon.com is exploring the idea of buying a mortgage banking franchise and making a splash in this highly cyclical business. But two huge questions loom: Will it actually happen? And if so, will Amazon disrupt the residential lending landscape the way it has brick-and-mortar retailers at the shopping mall?
Not many mortgage lenders found a way to boost production volume in the first quarter of 2018, but mid-size and smaller shops generally fared better than the industry giants, according to an Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. [Includes two data charts.]
LenderLive, a third-party service provider and correspondent lender, is weighing its options and has hired investment banker Houlihan Lokey, according to industry advisors familiar with the firm.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development will issue, in September, final rules to ease FHA requirements for financing condominium purchases and refinancings.
Federal courts have thrown out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s aggressive interpretation of anti-kickback provisions in the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. But plenty of questions remain about how new management of the agency will handle the issue or the fate of existing guidance on marketing service agreements, industry experts said this week.
The White House’s broadly phrased proposal to make Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac private corporations again and make explicit the government’s guarantee of their mortgage-backed securities caught industry observers by surprise.
The government-sponsored enterprises recently intensified efforts to help borrowers in rural areas qualify for a mortgage as part of their “duty-to-serve” markets where credit is scarce. Freddie Mac launched an employment program in high-needs regions and Fannie Mae has a new program targeting owners of manufactured homes.
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