The mortgage-origination market roared to life during the second quarter of 2016 with an estimated $510 billion in new lending, according to an exclusive new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. Nearly all lenders reported hefty increases in production – some 50 percent or more – compared to the first three months of the year. As a group, the top 25 lenders for the second quarter originated 31.7 percent more new loans than in the first three months of the year. The estimated $510 billion in originations during the most recent period was...[Includes two data tables]
The decline in interest rates after the Brexit vote in late June has boosted mortgage originations in recent weeks and caused problems for holders of mortgage servicing rights, according to industry participants at the California Mortgage Bankers Association’s Western Secondary Market Conference in San Francisco this week. Mike Duncan, a hedge manager at Compass Analytics, said 25 percent of his firm’s clients were over capacity at the end of May and 40 percent were over capacity by the end of June. He predicted that over-capacity rates could go even higher if interest rates stay low, increasing demand for refinances. Compass provides pricing, valuation and interest rate risk-management services. Rob Branthover, a managing director at Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp., added...
As of press time, it’s not clear whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will release its proposed rule clarifying certain aspects of its Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure Rule – TRID – before the end of July, the agency’s original timeframe. Joe Ventrone, vice president and deputy chief for regulatory affairs at the National Association of Realtors, said his organization is now looking at an August release and does not anticipate major changes. “However, the CFPB will put in writing all previous informal guidance [it has] given heretofore,” he said. “I think all the guidance will be important if it gives lenders and vendors comfort against enforcement reprisals.” NAR is...
In late January of this year, American International Group announced its intention to spin off 10 percent of its top-ranked mortgage insurance affiliate, United Guaranty Corp., but almost seven months later no deal has materialized. According to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance this week, it’s been “radio silent” regarding the initial public offering, but all that could change next week when AIG releases its second quarter results. A spokesman for UGC declined to comment on the matter. Most of the observers believe...
As federal programs to help underwater borrowers are phased out, government agencies want the mortgage industry to pick up where it left off to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure. They suggested that future programs be accessible, affordable, sustainable, transparent and have sufficient accountability. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, Department of Treasury, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development released a report this week that discussed what future loss mitigation programs should look like and lessons learned. The Home Affordable Modification Program and related federal initiatives will sunset at the end of 2016. “With the formal end of the crisis-era programs, the mortgage servicing industry will shoulder...
Small community lenders such as banks and credit unions not only have remained active in the mortgage servicing space under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s mortgage-servicing rules, their market share of 13 percent in 2015 was double what it was in 2008 after the financial crisis, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The largest community banks and credit unions accounted for most of the growth in the share of servicing by community banks and credit unions, the report said. Many of the representatives from 16 community lenders that GAO interviewed said...
The Democratic Party wants to expand programs to prevent foreclosure, increase access to affordable housing and preserve the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, according to its recently released 2016 platform. “Whereas the Republican Presidential nominee rooted for the housing crisis, Democrats will continue to fight for those families who suffered the loss of their homes,” the document says. “We will help those who are working toward a path of financial stability and will put sustainable homeownership into the reach of more families.” Democrats want...
Class-action plaintiffs might not be assured of a final victory despite a favorable jury verdict in the wake of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s affirmation of district courts’ power to decertify a class even after a jury verdict. Industry attorneys say that the court’s recent ruling in Mazzei v. The Money Store means that defendants can obtain decertification of a class action not only leading up to trial, but even after a jury verdict in favor of the class. In Mazzei, the Second Circuit reaffirmed...
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