Publicly-traded nonbank mortgage lenders posted erratic results from their mortgage-banking operations during the fourth quarter of 2015. As a group, the nine companies reported a combined $54.08 million in mortgage-banking income for the fourth quarter, a significant improvement from the $26.26 million loss they posted in the previous quarter. But three of the nonbanks – Impac, Ocwen and PHH Corp. – recorded losses on their mortgage origination ... [Includes one data chart]
Bank of America introduced a new affordable lending program last week that allows 3 percent downpayments and no required reserve funds in most instances. The bank partnered with Freddie Mac and Self-Help Ventures Fund, a Durham, NC-based nonprofit, to offer conforming loans to borrowers whose income doesn’t exceed 100 percent of the area median income. There’s also no private mortgage insurance on the loans as “Self-Help Ventures Fund is taking the first loss position in the event of a loan default through a recourse agreement,” said a Freddie spokesman. The Affordable Loan Solution mortgage was designed to let creditworthy homebuyers who meet specific income limits and other requirements to become homeowners at an affordable entry point, said...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed an argument in a whistleblower case, ruling that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not “federal instruments” for the purposes of the False Claims Act, a federal statute that’s been used aggressively against FHA lenders. The FCA imposes liability on persons that defraud government programs and was originally enacted to penalize private parties that profited illegally in selling supplies to the U.S. Army during the Civil War. In the case of United States ex rel. Adams v. Aurora Loan Services, Inc., et al., the government argued...
Agency issuance of single-family MBS declined by 9.5 percent from January to February, largely based on a seasonal slump in purchase-mortgage activity, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae produced a total of $80.49 billion of single-family MBS in February, their lowest combined monthly output since November 2014. The biggest decline was in purchase-mortgage activity, which fell 14.9 percent for the month. The refinance sector held up...[Includes two data tables]
Fannie Mae found that lenders’ profit margin outlook fell steadily throughout 2015 after peaking in the first quarter, even with a strong job market and low interest rates.
The CPFB it will continue to work with institutions to support implementation of its mortgage rules and “begin to assess the effectiveness of significant rules.”
The GSEs will publicly release their non-performing loan sales data for the first time, conclude their assessment of various credit scoring models and the FHFA will issue a request for input on front-end credit risk transfer transactions.
Following up on limited guidance the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued in January on the disclosure of construction-to-permanent loans under the TRID integrated disclosure rule, CFPB officials this week participated in a webinar and provided some specific answers to a number of detailed questions they have received from the industry on the topic. A number of industry participants inquired, first of all, as to the kinds of options available to a lender for disclosing construction loans. Lenders have several possible ways to disclose construction loans under the integrated disclosure rule, according to Nick Hluchyj, senior counsel in the bureau’s office of regulations. “Regulation Z and Appendix D have...
Some of the most well-known names in mortgage lending and servicing continue to deal with a variety of regulatory crackdowns and judicial disputes, some of which stem from the 2008 mortgage market collapse. In Massachusetts, HSBC has agreed to pay $4.1 million to resolve allegations that it violated state consumer protection laws by receiving commissions and other kickbacks from insurer Assurant Inc. relating to force-placed insurance policies that it procured for struggling homeowners in the state. Under the terms of the settlement, HSBC will provide...
RSS