As policymakers work toward housing finance reform, industry participants are forming plans to ensure that servicing issues are addressed. The Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center recently launched the Mortgage Servicing Collaborative, which will provide data on servicing issues and analyze possible solutions. “We are...
With servicing costs climbing the past five years, the issue of how much to pay residential loan processers is once again rearing its ugly head. And depending on who you talk to, the Treasury Department may take up the issue as well, especially since it controls the senior preferred stock of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. One industry advisor involved in the topic, speaking under the condition his name not be used, told...
Calls from offices of members of Congress seeking information regarding reform options for the government-sponsored enterprises have increased recently, according to Andrew Davidson, president of Andrew Davidson & Co., an analytics firm. Speaking this week at the SFIG Vegas conference produced by Information Management Network and the Structured Finance Industry Group, Davidson said he has received “a surprising number of calls” from congressional staff regarding GSE reform. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been...
Caliber Home Loans, Dallas, this week agreed to buy most of Banc of California’s mortgage operations, the nonbank’s second acquisition of the past seven months, and a possible harbinger of more activity to come. Mortgage M&A consultant Chuck Klein of Mortgage Banking Solutions said his advisory firm is now involved in at least six different deals. Rick Roque of Menlo Financial predicted that by the time this deal-cycle plays out, 20 percent of nonbanks could disappear via a purchase of one sort or another. Klein recently attended...
Purchase-mortgage originations in 2016 hit their highest level since before the housing market crash, including a solid uptick in first-time buyer activity, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. Revised estimates show a total of $1.021 trillion of home-purchase mortgages were originated in 2016, a 10.5 percent increase from the previous year. It marked the biggest volume of purchase-money lending since 2006 even though the purchase share of new originations declined. That’s...[Includes five data tables]
The bank statement loans and TRID exceptions prompted Fitch to apply higher loss severities to the MBS, which play a role in credit enhancement levels…