The first quarter of 2018 comes to a close on Sunday, with many conventional lenders happy to see it end, but that doesn’t mean the origination downturn – courtesy of higher rates – was a horror show by any means. Certain shops posted modest production declines compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 and several increased lending compared to 1Q17, according to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Trends. But perhaps the biggest shot in the arm came from ...

Lenders and potential borrowers are reporting relatively weak demand for purchase mortgages heading into the spring homebuying season. While consumers are seeing economic gains, rising home prices and higher interest rates have constrained expectations for home sales. Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, said lenders surveyed in the first quarter by the GSE reported “the most anemic” purchase-mortgage demand outlook for any first quarter since ...

Adopting a digital origination process can help lenders win market share, according to analysts at Strategic Mortgage Finance Group. Michael Grad, a senior partner at Stratmor, stressed that it takes more than upgrading a loan origination system to see results. “As an industry, we’ve approached digital originations by allowing technology to drive business instead of setting business strategy that drives our technology choices,” he said in a recent analysis. “Our industry needs to ...

Newfi Lending has rolled out a new non-agency jumbo loan program for its wholesale mortgage broker partners aimed at high-asset borrowers who are difficult to qualify. The program, Sequoia Portfolio Plus, is designed as a go-to alternative for creditworthy borrowers who could not qualify for conventional jumbo loans due to a less-than-stellar credit history. Sequoia combines the best of jumbo and nontraditional borrowing options, explained Newfi CEO Steve Abreu ...

A spokeswoman for CoreLogic confirmed that Khater is leaving the company…

The FHFA noted that the GSE NPL auctions are open to any qualified bidder…

Moody’s noted that if the provision becomes law, small banks won’t have to meet certain documentation requirements included in the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule…

The megabanks and some top ranked nonbanks rely heavily on correspondent purchases to gather FHA and VA loans…

The U.S. Treasury controls the senior preferred shares of the GSEs, but has no positions in the common.

Look for a lot more mergers this year. Then again, if rates dive, all bets might be off...