There was an increase in the volume of home loans lenders had to buy back from the government-sponsored enterprises in the first quarter of 2018, but repurchase activity remained subdued. [Includes two data charts.]
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae are relying more heavily on special rules that grant most of their single-family business qualified-mortgage status even if the debt-to-income ratio of the loan exceeds 43 percent. [Includes two data charts.]
Ditech Financial, the nation’s 12th largest servicer of home mortgages, is officially on the auction block and it comes at a time when several nonbanks are heading for the exit ramp. Now, the big question: Can Ditech be sold in a stock transaction or will it be an asset sale?
The faster processing times by so-called fintech lenders don’t result in riskier loans than production from traditional originators, according to an analysis published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Seterus, a servicing vendor working for Fannie Mae, foreclosed on 2,762 homes in California during 2017, more than any other servicer – by far – according to a report issued by the California Department of Business Oversight. The year prior, Seterus, which is controlled by IBM, foreclosed on 4,265 units, the state found. The figures cover only firms that are California licensees. The runner-up in California foreclosures last year was Nationstar Mortgage with 1,410 actions, down 15.4 percent from 2016.
With loan production on a downward trajectory this year, rumors abound regarding industry layoffs, but at least one top-ranked lender is still actively hiring: United Wholesale Mortgage, Troy, MI.
A significant number of lenders report that they don’t have a comprehensive vendor management system in place, according to a survey by Vendorly, a firm that provides vendor-oversight services.
A spike in non-agency mortgage-backed security issuance has helped make 2018 the strongest year for securitizations in this niche market since the financial crisis, but the sector still has a long way to go, according to Grant Bailey, a top analyst at Fitch Ratings.
Industry experts continue to weigh in on the White House’s proposal to privatize the GSEs and introduce multiple guarantors, but don’t anticipate action anytime soon. Analysts with Keefe, Bruyette and Woods said the proposed changes are similar to the Corker-Warner and Johnson-Crapo reform bills previously introduced in the Senate.
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