FHA lenders funded $7.8 billion in new Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans during the first half of 2015, up 8.2 percent from the same period a year ago. HECM loan production was slower in the second quarter with originations down 1.1 percent from the prior quarter. Purchase loans accounted for 86.1 percent of all HECM transactions during the first six months. Interestingly, borrower bias against adjustable-rate loans appeared to have eased. Fixed-rate HECMs accounted for only 15.4 percent of originations during the first half of the year. Initial principal amount at loan origination totaled $4.6 billion over the same period. On a fiscal year-to-date basis, the FHA reported a total of 53,372 HECM endorsements, up from 47,662 HECM endorsements in fiscal YTD 2014. Meanwhile, HECM endorsed cases increased to 5,750 in August compared to ... [ chart ]

One standout: FHA, where jumbo production soared in the second quarter, more than doubling to $6.8 billion.

loanDepot founder and CEO Anthony Hsieh is well known for starting companies, building them up and then selling them.

Under the new policy, corporations must provide the DOJ with all relevant facts about individuals involved in corporate misconduct if they hope to get leniency or credit for cooperation in the investigation.

A few weeks back when the poll was first launched the results were more optimistic, but...

Lender compensation of loan originators has become a whole new world now that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken over enforcement for many lenders. During an Inside Mortgage Finance webinar this week, three top legal experts spelled out multiple lessons lenders should learn if they wish to avoid the fate that has befallen some of their peers at the hands of the CFPB. Kristie Kully, a partner with the K&L Gates law firm, drew a number of key take-aways from the first such enforcement action brought by the bureau, which occurred in November 2013, when the CFPB accused Castle & Cook and two of its executives of paying illegal bonuses for steering consumers into costlier mortgages. More specifically, the bureau alleged...

Paul Hindman of Grid Origination Services noted that any public company CEO who does not deliver on performance mandates “is at risk, more so than ever in today’s market.”

Back in the early years after the financial crisis, Fannie and Freddie accounted for 60.0 percent or more of primary-market originations...

"For the CFPB to act on its own in such a bullish manner without concern for the confusion this will cause, along with additional costs for consumers, is unconscionable,” said NAIHP chief Marc Savitt.

Ocwen blames the anticipated loss on lower revenue and higher operating expenses.