The sudden firing late last week of Wells Fargo’s consumer and mortgage chief Franklin Codel for an unspecified personnel matter sent a clear message to the executive ranks of the company that it will not tolerate any behavior that puts the firm in a negative light.

It’s been almost a week since the biggest staffing news to hit the mortgage industry this year – the early departure of Richard Cordray from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – and the Trump administration has yet to name either a permanent replacement or even an acting director. Legal uncertainty may be the reason why.

Originations of so-called expanded-credit mortgages among a group of 15 lenders were essentially level in the third quarter of 2017 compared with the previous quarter, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The lenders had a total of $10.61 billion of expanded-credit volume in the third quarter, up 1.7 percent from the previous quarter. Expanded-credit loans include non-qualified mortgages, nonprime mortgages ... [Includes one data chart]

The 30-day delinquency rate increased significantly as of the end of the third quarter of 2017, with hurricanes taking a toll on mortgage performance, among other factors.

The sale of mortgage banking franchises and asset-related acquisitions are gaining traction as the year draws to a close, but dealmakers aren’t expecting any blockbuster moves before yearend. According to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance with investment banking advi-sors, many lenders remain profitable and are enjoying a 2017 that turned out to be better than expected in terms of origination volume.

Flagstar Bank has announced a new loan program that will benefit cash-strapped borrowers in low- and moderate-income communities who want to purchase a house.

Senior homeowners are expected to have a wealth of home equity to tap into as they reach re-tirement, according to a new study by the Urban Institute. The institute analyzed the Federal Reserve’s 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances released this fall and concluded that 3.3 million low- and moderate-income seniors have more than $775 billion in un-tapped housing wealth.

FHA single-family endorsements rose 2.0 percent in the third quarter from the prior quarter as more borrowers took out purchase loans and nonbanks remained in control of the market during the period. The FHA endorsed $62.1 billion of forward mortgages during the third quarter, which brought total production over the first nine months of 2017 to $182.7 billion (excluding reverse mortgages), a 2.5 percent decline from 2016. Fixed-rate loans continued to comprise nearly all of FHA’s business. Adjustable-rate endorsements totaled $935.3 million for the first nine months of 2017, up from $701.7 million a year ago. FHA purchase activity was up 4.4 percent to $48.5 billion in the third quarter while annual volume increased 2.6 percent from 2016. Purchase loans accounted for 73.6 percent of total FHA endorsements for the nine-month period. Of the $182.7 billion of FHA loans endorsed during the ... [Charts]

Any chance of a mortgage-insurance premium reduction in the near future has dimmed in the wake of an actuarial report placing the FHA insurance fund on shakier ground at the end of FY 2017. One clear thing from the report released on Nov. 15 was that FHA’s flagship single-family home mortgage program continued to grow stronger with an economic net worth of $38.4 billion in fiscal 2017. In contrast, problems persisted in the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage portfolio, driving the program’s economic value down by another $6 billion to negative $14.5 billion. The drag HECM losses inflicted on the MMIF has renewed calls to separate the ailing portfolio from the fund, which can only be accomplished by legislation. Right now, the reverse mortgage issue is not even on Congress’ legislative agenda. HECM losses also caused the fund’s economic net worth and capital reserve ratio to decline in fiscal year ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have issued a joint warning to servicemembers and veterans about VA refinancing offers that sound too good to be true. There is a good chance that borrowers with a VA loan have already received unsolicited offers to refinance their mortgages even just months after closing, the agencies said in their first “warning order” (WARNO). Many of these refi solicitations promise extremely low rates, thousands of dollars in cash back, skipped mortgage payments, no out-of-pocket costs and no waiting period, the agencies noted. The VA and the CFPB said lenders offering VA refinances may use aggressive and potentially misleading advertising and sales tactics. “Lenders may advertise a rate just to get you to respond or you may receive a VA mortgage refi offer that provides limited benefit to you while adding thousands of dollars to your loan balance,” the agencies warned. Even though the VA prohibits a lender from advertising skip payments on ...