With originations tepid of late, mortgage banking firms have been holding their payrolls steady, careful not to add overhead in what might prove to be a challenging market for the remainder of 2018. According to figures compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, mortgage banking firms employed 251,600 workers at the end of June, flat compared to the prior month. Companies that fall into the loan brokerage category employed 91,400 full timers at June 30, down 400 positions from May ...

Use of blockchain technology could help increase profits for lenders and servicers in fewer than 10 years, according to Andrew Weiss, a principal at Strategic Mortgage Finance Group. Weiss was an architect of Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter in the 1990s and likened the current skepticism about blockchain to lenders’ lack of faith in automated underwriting before such systems became ubiquitous. “How can any technology replace the years of training and experience ...

Successful homebuyers in the first half of 2018 pointed to large downpayments as one of the factors that helped close the transaction, according to a survey and analysis by realtor.com, a home listing site. More than 1,000 homebuyers who closed on their purchases in the first half of this year were surveyed on behalf of realtor.com, which is a subsidiary of Move and operates with a licensing agreement with the National Association of Realtors. Some 24 percent of respondents ...

Mortgage servicing is lagging behind other financial services in adopting digital capability and it is impairing borrower satisfaction, according to the results of the 2018 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicing Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power. “The challenges the servicers have are the bar keeps rising and expectations rise particularly when it comes to digital interaction,” said Craig Martin, senior director of the mortgage practice at J.D. Power. “The majority of consumers coming in or ...

Mortgage environments run by artificial intelligence? Not yet – but close. Artificial intelligence and automation are helping mortgage servicers streamline servicing and reduce costs but may be costing some humans their jobs, according to analysts with Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings team. However, there is no cause for alarm because human power remains vital to the mortgage process. The day AI completely takes over mortgage servicing is still very far off, analysts said ...

The GSEs posted a combined net profit of $6.96 billion for the second quarter, with Fannie accounting for the lion’s share having earned $4.46 billion. The combined number is down slightly from the $7.19 billion recorded for the first quarter. Fannie Mae’s chief financial officer, Dave Benson, attributed the 4.6 percent quarterly increase partly to higher credit-related income. [Includes one data chart.]

Fannie Mae’s CEO Timothy Mayopoulos is leaving his post by the end of this year after being with the GSE since 2009. Fannie announced his departure last week along with a new leadership structure. Mayopoulos became CEO in 2012 after being promoted from chief administrative officer and general counsel. He will remain on board until the end of 2018 and work with the board of directors to make sure the transition is seamless. During his tenure, Fannie has been profitable each year. “For Fannie Mae, it has been a decade of reform and fundamental change.

In a new semi-annual letter issued to shareholders this week, Fairholme Capital Management blamed the weak first-half performance of the Fairholme Fund on its investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred shares, while telling investors the GSEs’ businesses are “stronger than ever.”The Fairholme Fund decreased in value by 8.49 percent in the first half of 2018, while the S&P gained 2.65 percent, according to the shareholder letter. The investment in Fannie/Freddie accounts for 16.6 percent of the Fairholme Fund’s net assets. Headed by investment banking veteran Bruce Berkowitz, Fairholme is betting heavily on a recent promise made by the Trump administration to end the almost 10-year-old conservatorships with the hope the two will reemerge as shareholder-owned companies.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have the Treasury Department’s support when it comes to appraisal waivers, according to a newly published report this week from the Treasury on nonbank financials, fintech and innovation. A portion of the report focused on updating activity-specific regulations under the realm of lending and servicing. Treasury explained that it supports the GSEs’ efforts to implement standardized appraisal reporting, their adoption of proprietary electronic portals to submit appraisal forms and the GSEs’ limited adoption of appraisal waivers. The report acknowledged concerns from the appraisal industry but touted the benefits of using the waivers. “While Treasury acknowledges that

The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General said the GSE boards’ undelegated authority has changed significantly over the past five years. Some items like seller/servicer master agreements no longer need FHFA approval. In a white paper published last week, the IG examined the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s letters of instruction (LOI) to the boards of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The letters were initiated at the start of the conservatorship in 2008, revised in 2012 and updated again in December 2017. They are sent to the GSE boards to define and...