Fiscal 2012 turned out to be a stellar year for the Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loan Guaranty program with $119.23 billion in total loan volume, thanks largely to surging streamlined VA refinancing as well as conversions from FHA and conventional loans. A total of 539,884 new single-family mortgage loans with a VA guaranty were originated in 2012, up 59.12 percent from the prior fiscal year, according to the latest VA data. VA originations have been trending upward since 2010, when the agency reported $65.05 billion in new originations. Volume was largely driven...

Look for the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee under a Democrat majority to focus over the next two years on assuring a smooth implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, stabilizing the housing market and building a “bipartisan consensus” on housing finance reform, according to the committee’s chairman. “From protecting consumers and taxpayers from Wall Street abuses, to providing the Federal Housing Administration with additional tools to manage its finances while continuing to serve American families, I believe we can find common ground,” said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD, chairman. The committee will continue...

GSE reform could see the light of day after all - or at least an attempt at it.

Redwood is in the market with a new jumbo deal, this one with loans that have little in the way of seasoning.

PowerLink Settlement, a service provider and appraisal management joint venture controlled by Fidelity National Financial and Homeward Residential, is shutting its doors.

IsZo Capital Management increases stake in Impac Mortgage.

HSBC is planning a large nonperforming mortgage auction that could happen early in the second quarter.

Lenders are looking at guaranty fee hikes of 50 basis points this year - maybe.

The market for nonperforming mortgages could turn white hot in 2013.

In a market that grew by 15.9 percent in 2012, Moody’s increased the volume of ABS deals it rated by just 6.9 percent over its activity in 2011.