An unspecified number of counties would have been assigned lower loan limits, based on house price trends, but the FHFA weighed “other factors” and left them unchanged.

CFPB eClosing Program Will be a Plus, Eventually. The eClosing initiative launched earlier this year by the CFPB will ultimately be beneficial to the mortgage industry, once all the big wrinkles are ironed out, according to analysts at DBRS, formerly Dominion Bond Rating Service. “Many of the elements that make up eClosings are already being used in other consumer and commercial loans (such as auto loans and equipment lending), so much of the process should be easy to replicate,” the analysts said in a client note last week. “However, it is the uniqueness of the mortgage industry that will present some challenges.” For instance, there are real estate statutes for real property, compared with the Uniform Commercial Code for personal ...

A sale of that size would greatly reduce the bank’s portfolio and would signal a strategy shift.

However, the technology initiative will not be a slam dunk. Real estate laws vary from state to state, which can present a high hurdle for large national lenders to clear.

Two years ago, Ross’ WL Ross & Co. sold its mortgage banking operation, Homeward Residential, to Ocwen for $750 million in cash and convertible preferred stock.

The biggest gain in bank MBS investment during the third quarter was in non-agency securities.

The increase in g-fees last year made all three loan-purpose categories more profitable.

Other changes include: providing flexibility for servicers to comply with certain force-placed insurance and periodic statement disclosure requirements.

Regarding Nationstar’s financial condition, Fitch previously referenced the financial condition of Fortress Investment Group, which owns 74 percent of the nonbank lender/servicer.

Banks and thrifts held a combined $1.535 trillion of residential MBS at the end of September, a modest 0.6 percent increase from the previous quarter, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis of bank call reports. Bank MBS holdings had spiked higher in the first quarter of this year, only to fall back in the following period. Compared to a year ago, the industry’s aggregate MBS portfolio was up 1.4 percent. Bank and thrift MBS holdings first crossed...[Includes two data charts]