Mortgage originations made by the Department of Veterans Affairs fell slightly from 2009 to 2010, but the VAs share of the market set an all-time record last year due to the drop in total mortgage lending. The $68.92 billion in VA loans made...[Includes one data chart]
Wells Fargo will stop offering reverse mortgages through its wholesale and broker channels after next week, becoming the latest large FHA lender to reconfigure its business in that sector. Bank of America announced in early February that it will stop originating reverse mortgages as the company plans to focus on its core business. Wells and BofA were...[Includes one data chart]
Just over two thirds of the home mortgages originated in 2010 were to refinance an existing loan, a surprisingly low figure given the historic lows in mortgage interest rates seen last year and the still weak state of the housing market. A total of $1.055 trillion of refinance loans were originated...[Includes three data charts]
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to inch toward profitability in a market that remains dicey, tentative and uneven all while navigating between escalating dividend payouts to the Treasury Department and a steep drop in their need for additional capital infusions. Over the last 12 months, the two GSEs have seen...[Includes one data chart]
The government’s heavy footprint in the residential mortgage market shifted slightly in 2010 as the FHA and VA programs gave back some market share and the government-sponsored enterprises captured a smaller slice of the conventional conforming business. In 2009, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issuance of single-family mortgage securities backed by newly-originated loans accounted...[Includes three data charts]
The Federal Trade Commission has announced the appointment of Edward Hassi as chief litigation officer for the agencys Bureau of Competition. He replaces J. Robert Robertson, who left the agency in 2010 to return to private practice. Hassi is formerly a partner at the Washington, DC, law firm OMelveny & Myers, where he served...
The compensation formula that will most likely be used by mortgage loan originators to comply with the Federal Reserves final rule is a percentage of the loan-funded balance with a minimum floor, according to the California Association of Mortgage Professionals. In an analysis of the rule, the CAMP said MLOs will most likely choose...
The Federal Reserve Board has issued a final rule and sought comment on a proposed rule to revise escrow requirements for first-lien jumbo mortgage loans and first-lien, higher-priced mortgages, respectively. The changes to Regulation Z, which implements...
Florida. State Attorney General Pam Bondi has launched a civil investigation into the foreclosure practices of a Ft. Lauderdale law firm shortly after Fannie Mae quit sending business to the firm. Ben-Ezra & Katz and its principals, Marc Ben-Ezra and Marvin Katz, are...
House Financial Services CommitteeBills to Shut Down Ineffective Foreclosure Programs. Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, R-AL, announced a subcommittee hearing and a full committee markup of four bills that will eliminate...