On its stated-income product, Homewood requires a minimum of three months of bank statements for both business and personal assets.

As part of the transaction, Cobalt co-founders Keith Tibbles and Ernie Gehre will stay with the company, which will become a division of Caliber.

Purchase-mortgage originations jumped 44.3 percent from the first quarter of 2014 to the second quarter, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking, with first-time homebuyers representing about 43.9 percent of agency activity in the sector. Purchase mortgages accounted for 64.1 percent of total mortgage production during the second quarter. That’s the highest purchase share since 1995, when financing for home purchases represented 67.2 percent of total originations. At the midway point of 2014, purchase-mortgage originations were up...[Includes four data charts]

The biggest chunk of purchase business for the GSEs were loans ranging from $200,000 to $300,000, which accounted for 29.4 percent of their business.

The MBA argued that the DOL didn’t follow rulemaking procedures in 2010 when the regulator withdrew guidance stating that loan officers could be exempt from overtime compensation requirements...

Although there appears to be strong interest these days in mortgage banking firms, the outlook isn’t particularly bright for commercial banks.

“Law enforcement has been on a bit of a run with settlements and enforcement," said Jim Parrott, a former Obama administration point man on housing.

The FHFA partially agreed with the IG's first recommendation and flatly rejected the second.

Company CEO Brian Hale downplayed the news of an offering book, noting that it hired an investment banker because over the past 12 months Stearns has been approached by “a number of interested investors.”

The loan is available in California, Florida, Hawaii and New Jersey, and is slated to be expanded to other states.