Spencer Stuart, headhunting firm, aided the MI in its search for a new CEO. A few months back former Freddie Mac executive Bruce Witherell was approached about the job, but passed.
Conventional mortgage originations held steady during the fourth quarter of 2016, but the government-insured market saw a noticeable downturn, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. Production of conventional mortgages that fit under the purchase limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac actually edged up 1.3 percent from the third quarter, hitting an estimated $322.0 billion. That was the sector’s strongest three-month origination volume since the second quarter of 2013, when lenders pumped out $363.0 billion of conventional-conforming loans. Jumbo mortgage originations were...[Includes two data tables]
Six weeks into the new year and it appears that merger-and-acquisition activity in the mortgage industry is finally picking up – big time. Over the past 10 days, several – mostly “asset” related – deals have come to light, with the action being driven by private-equity money that’s backing nonbank lenders. Wall Street giant The Blackstone Group, which has a PE division, is involved as well. So far, the only depository that appears to be playing in the M&A surge is...
President Trump late last week signed an executive order laying out his “core principles” for regulating the U.S. financial system, and giving the head of the Treasury Department 120 days to detail how the current massive regulatory regime measures up. Trump’s core principles include fostering informed consumer choices, preventing bailouts, promoting economic growth, tailoring regulations and ensuring regulatory accountability. The broadly-worded order specifies, “Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect ... the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof.” The order was...
Late last week, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with arguments made by PHH Corp. and blocked three separate efforts to intervene in the dispute the lender has with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In a simple, single-page order, the three judges "ordered that the motions be denied." The ruling affects...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is facing criticism for its handling of FHA’s loan quality assessment methodology. A draft of the so-called defect taxonomy was published without proper departmental clearance, according to a recent report by HUD’s Office of Inspector General. The defect taxonomy is one of 13 FHA-related documents the OIG claims were not properly cleared. The OIG called on HUD to pursue departmental clearance for the documents and policies and to recall any documents that can’t be appropriately cleared. A recall of the defect taxonomy would be...
RSS