loanDepot, LLC, made a big splash in the market this week, becoming the first nonbank lender to begin making ‘A’ paper second liens since the housing bust. The Irvine, CA-based lender fully expects it may soon have competition, but believes by being the first in, it will have a leg up on whichever players enter the fold. However, a quick call to a handful of nonbanks turned up...

Nonbanks couldn’t keep pace with prominent banks in terms of mortgage earnings in the second quarter of 2015, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. A group of eight nonbanks had lower mortgage-related income in the second quarter of 2015 compared with the previous quarter, with large losses tied to servicing operations. PHH Mortgage was the main restraint on the group of nonbanks as the firm reported a $43.0 million loss from mortgage services in the second quarter of 2015 after $38.0 million in income the previous quarter. The loss for PHH included a $66.0 million loss in the servicing segment. The nonbank increased...[Includes one data table]

Emerging eClosing technology may make borrowers a little smarter, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but it isn’t easy for lenders to implement. A CFPB report on the agency’s eClosing project found that borrowers who participated in the pilot scored slightly higher in a quiz on the closing process than did those who relied on good-old paper. The eClosers were...

A new research paper analyzing the risks and opportunities for disruption in the housing finance system notes that new business models and services make the entire mortgage industry ripe for change. Although the paper by the Collingwood Group notes that disruption is inevitable in any industry, it said it is most predictable in an industry faced with conditions where the current model is too challenging, inefficient, costly and unresponsive to customer and business needs. “With no fundamental changes to origination processes in decades, lost efficiency, growing regulatory hurdles, high costs and low profits, there is...

The sharp increase in purchase-mortgage lending during 2Q helped float the private MI boat higher.

Historically, the turn time for the Income Verification Express Service program has been around two business days or less. Not anymore.

Is the bulk MSR market in the doldrums?

Overall, delinquencies remained below levels seen a year ago...

HUD's Neighborhood Watch system is down, but this cabinet level agency has no explanations for the press or public

Some lenders, such as PennyMac, have promoted the no-downpayment feature in their media advertisements.