The company filed for bankruptcy protection this week, a maneuver that could lead to a merger with Finance of America. What the two nonbanks have in common: both are owned by The Blackstone Group. But it’s hardly a done deal.
Reverse mortgage lender Live Well Financial is headed into liquidation, causing financial damage along the way to warehouse providers Flagstar Bank and Customers Bank. What killed the company? Answer: IO securities that were decimated by falling interest rates.
Lenders approve fewer loan applications and apply more conservative underwriting standards in states that impose a judicial foreclosure process, according to new research.
A House committee last week approved a bill that would extend deductions for mortgage insurance premiums through 2020. Meanwhile, the Senate is grappling with how to address various expired tax breaks.
Thanks to sustained low interest rates, auctions of mortgage servicing rights are scarce these days, but not impossible. Investors are still interested but they're cautious. Meanwhile, loan production continues to increase.
Quicken rarely talks about its presence in the wholesale/broker market, but the company recently named a new EVP Austin Niemiec in charge of the business. Meanwhile, some have pegged Quicken's wholesale volume at $5 billion a quarter. What's going on here?
Mortgage Grapevine: Rushmore is buying another origination platform, a sign that mortgage M&A could be on the rise again. Meanwhile, Fannie Mae is offering buyout packages to a select group of employees.
The use of automated valuation models is set to increase, prompting concerns and some optimism among industry participants. The Dodd-Frank Act directed federal regulators to address the use of AVMs but that hasn't happened yet.
Grapevine: A few days ahead of a scheduled bankruptcy auction, New Residential Investment Corp. has swooped in and made a "stalking horse" bid. Meanwhile, a big promotion at Fannie Mae and a record month for Guaranteed Rate.
It's no secret that Ginnie Mae officials are losing sleep over nonbanks dominating the government MBS market. With liquidity a primary concern, the agency is ready to consider "non-traditional" investors in its MSRs. But there's a catch: They may have to commit as much as $1 billion.
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