Concern about government-proposed capital rules for private mortgage insurers and their potentially negative effect on MI premiums has prompted loan guarantors and others to call for changes. The Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors and several private MI companies have urged the Federal Housing Finance Agency to ease proposed capital requirements for private MIs. As written, the proposed rules could cause MI premiums to spike, making it more difficult for first-time homebuyers to purchase a home and for MIs to maintain market share, they warned. The draft Private Mortgage Insurer Eligibility Requirements (PMIERs) is...

Federal regulators should craft capital requirements for nonbank mortgage companies that emphasize areas of risk that demand adequate capital and profitability, such as lending and mortgage securitization, instead of areas that are more connected with operational efficiency and compliance, such as loan servicing, according to the Kroll Bond Rating Agency. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is trying to determine how much capital a nonbank mortgage company involved in lending, securitization and/or servicing needs in order to minimize the potential risk to the government-sponsored enterprises, while Ginnie Mae is researching the risk posed by nonbank issuers. “How much capital does a nonbank seller/servicer need...

A Congressional Budget Office conclusion that the leading bipartisan mortgage-reform bill could save the government a lot of money likely won’t bring the legislation back to life in this Congress, but it could bolster a similar approach down the road. The CBO estimated that replacing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a new securitization program that couples a first-loss position for private capital with back-end government insurance could reduce “direct spending” by $60 billion over the 2015-2024 period. The Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013, S. 1217, drafted by Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-ID, would establish...

Altisource Portfolio Solutions has rolled out a new operating platform for brokers, table funders and third-party vendors.

Although the Federal Reserve has tapered its agency MBS purchases significantly, the central bank continued to grow its holdings during the second quarter.

Wells and JPMorgan Chase are no longer the dominant forces they once were in warehouse lending, ceding market share to more nimble bankers...

"Wellington's going to do what Wellington's going to do," said one observer of the stock sale.

We understand that when stock analysts meet with Ocwen management, executives at the nonbank usually tell them to not even ask about the deal.

Bank of America was once again the buyback king at the midway point in 2014.

The CFPB also is working with other regulators to help ensure consistency in their examinations of mortgage lenders...