Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan sellers pushed hard to increase originations of purchase-money mortgages during the first quarter of 2016, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis. The biggest beneficiaries were loan applicants with lower credit scores. In the first quarter of this year, 21.4 percent of purchase mortgages sold to the two government-sponsored enterprises had credit scores in the 620 to 699 range. That was up from just 14.4 percent in ... [Includes two data charts]

Falling interest rates pounded the earnings of publicly traded nonbank lenders in early 2016 by forcing them to take huge writedowns on their mortgage servicing rights. The nine nonbank lenders tracked by Inside Mortgage Trends reported a combined $510.0 million loss in the first quarter, following a $12.7 million loss in the previous period. Back in the first quarter of 2015, the group had a combined $104.5 million in net income from their ... [Includes one data chart]

If you’re searching for some good news on the troubled PHH Corp., look no further than the book value of the company’s common stock, which is roughly $23 a share, according to a recent calculation from Sterne Agee CRT. In trading late this week, PHH’s share price was a mere $12.60, which means there appears to be plenty of upside as long as management can right the troubled ship and find a way forward as private-label clients fall to the wayside and servicing "marks" ...

A preliminary analysis of 2015 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports suggests that loan denial rates declined slightly last year. ComplianceTech, a supplier of fair lending and HMDA technologies for lenders and others, recently released an “EarlyLook” at its online Lending Patterns database of HMDA reports. A group of 175 lenders had a combined $730.9 billion in mortgage originations last year, up 35.7 percent from its volume back in 2014. The 175 aren’t necessarily the ...

The practice of an individual investor purchasing a property, fixing it up and reselling it for a profit – an activity so prevalent before the financial crisis that it spawned television shows – is making a return, especially in certain markets, according to CoreLogic. “Flipping was at an all-time high before the housing bubble burst because of easy access to credit and speculation for higher home prices,” said Bin He, principal economist at CoreLogic, in a recent blog post ...

The GSEs are preparing big updates to their loan origination tools and one of the most noticeable changes will be Fannie Mae’s use of trended credit data to help more consumers qualify for a mortgage. Fannie will be rolling out Desktop Underwriter 10.0 during the weekend of June 25. Trended credit data relies on expanded information on borrowers’ credit history that shows the balance, minimum payment due and amount that is generally paid to determine if the consumer regularly pays off debt or carries a revolving balance. By using trended credit data in the risk assessment, Fannie said it allows for a more thorough analysis of the borrower’s credit history and is a “powerful predictor” of risk.

While many applaud the Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act that passed the House unanimously late last month, one mortgage group says the bill could cause problems for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Currently, homeowners can only get coverage from the National Flood Insurance Program. The bill, H.R. 2901, expands flood insurance options by including private flood insurance, and requires the GSEs to accept any private flood insurance company a borrower chooses, as long as the company is financially sound. It also lifts certain federal restrictions placed on insurance companies and gives states more flexibility to license and regulate private flood insurance. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-FL, who co-sponsored H.R. 2901 with Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-FL, said the...

Although the GSEs are reviewing loans to make sure the new TRID forms are being used, not for technical compliance, Fannie Mae’s survey of lenders on the impact of TRID showed vendor coordination and communication with key players have been the biggest challenges.More than three quarters of the lenders surveyed cited challenges when it comes to managing and coordinating third-party technology vendors and communication with buyers, sellers and loan officers. In addition, smaller lenders said they feel more burdened since the rule took effect in October. Fannie said many small- to-midsized lenders indicated that they don’t have the same resources as larger institutions which can easily invest in upgrading systems and have in-house compliance resources to...

United Guaranty was the largest MI in terms of total policies written in 1Q16, but Arch Mortgage Insurance and National MI were the fastest growers.

Mortgage officials tracking the case note that almost a year ago Quicken raised $1.25 billion through a debt sale, money that can be employed for legal help as it fights the DOJ case.