Currently, FHA requires a waiting period of two years in bankruptcy cases and three years after a foreclosure or short sale before a borrower can apply for an FHA loan.

With the retreat of banks from the non-prime lending space, Springleaf says it is strategically positioned to grow in the years ahead.

“Three years appears to be an inordinately long period to fully implement the advisory bulletin,” writes the IG of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Mortgage brokers are continuing to lose market share, but the decline could be temporary, especially if the megabanks run out of refis.

“As expected, we don’t believe any mortgages have been sold out of trusts to the city of Richmond,” said Tom Deutsch, executive director of the American Securitization Forum.

PHH Mortgage may unload billions of dollars in housing receivables, while remaining as the subservicer on the underlying loans.

Equifax has enhanced its “retro income verification service,” known as “Point In Time.”

Mini-correspondent lending is hot, but wholesale may be on the decline. Surprise: RE/MAX files to go public.

Roughly, 60 percent of real estate loans made by credit unions are sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, compared to only 44 percent for all financial institutions.

Combined with the 15 companies that previously reported earnings, mortgage banking income jumped 10 percent in the second quarter, to $7.51 billion.