Six weeks into the new year and it appears that merger-and-acquisition activity in the mortgage industry is finally picking up – big time. Over the past 10 days, several – mostly “asset” related – deals have come to light, with the action being driven by private-equity money that’s backing nonbank lenders. Wall Street giant The Blackstone Group, which has a PE division, is involved as well. So far, the only depository that appears to be playing in the M&A surge is...
President Trump late last week signed an executive order laying out his “core principles” for regulating the U.S. financial system, and giving the head of the Treasury Department 120 days to detail how the current massive regulatory regime measures up. Trump’s core principles include fostering informed consumer choices, preventing bailouts, promoting economic growth, tailoring regulations and ensuring regulatory accountability. The broadly-worded order specifies, “Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect ... the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof.” The order was...
Late last week, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with arguments made by PHH Corp. and blocked three separate efforts to intervene in the dispute the lender has with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In a simple, single-page order, the three judges "ordered that the motions be denied." The ruling affects...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is facing criticism for its handling of FHA’s loan quality assessment methodology. A draft of the so-called defect taxonomy was published without proper departmental clearance, according to a recent report by HUD’s Office of Inspector General. The defect taxonomy is one of 13 FHA-related documents the OIG claims were not properly cleared. The OIG called on HUD to pursue departmental clearance for the documents and policies and to recall any documents that can’t be appropriately cleared. A recall of the defect taxonomy would be...
Ben Carson, who is expected to be confirmed soon as the next secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said he’s looking for an experienced mortgage professional to guide the FHA program during his tenure. In recent years, the top FHA job has been held by people with more experience in government than in the mortgage business. The last industry veteran in the post was Dave Stevens, who brought years of mortgage finance experience when he took the job in the first Obama administration. He left in 2011 to become president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association. In response to written questions from Senate Democrats, Carson said...
In a new annual letter to shareholders, Fairholme Capital Management once again lays out its argument for investing in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock, trying to explain to its wealthy investors that it feels more secure in owning junior preferred shares than common stock. Among other things, Fairholme said the preferred stock “provide(s) us with greater security and certainty than the common stock and, as you know, we are not speculators.” When it comes to a liquidation preference, preferred shareholders are senior to common shareholders, who often receive nothing when a company goes bust. But Fairholme’s problem – one shared by other firms that still own this class of stock – is...
Home prices in 2016 soared as a number of metropolitan areas reached record new home price highs, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ yearend report on home sales. Among 201 metropolitan statistical areas with populations of at least 200,000, 44 percent hit new all-time home price peaks last year. Those areas include Dallas-Fort Worth ($230,571), Houston ($214,795), Atlanta ($181,000), Boston ($390,000) and San Francisco ($720,000). Three Ohio markets, Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, also reached...
A number of factors – including misconceptions – are preventing some potential homebuyers from pursuing purchase mortgages, according to the National Association of Realtors. The trade group said it has found “real and imaginary barriers holding back prospective homebuyers.” The so-called imaginary barriers involve potential borrowers’ perceptions about downpayment requirements. “Apparent confusion about downpayment requirements may be...
The CFPB said Prospect Mortgage entered into agreements to buy leads from more than 200 different counterparties, most of which were real estate brokers.
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