Servicing employment has been under pressure the past few years as loan processors such as Ocwen Financial, Nationstar Mortgage and others move to offshore as many back office workers as possible.
Originations of jumbo mortgages continued to increase in the second quarter of 2015 and lenders are chasing volume by lowering interest rates and loosening underwriting standards. Some $93.0 billion in jumbos were originated in the second quarter, according to estimates by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Halfway through 2015, originations totaled an estimated $163.0 billion, up 58.3 percent compared with the mid-point of 2014. Banks continue to ... [Includes one data chart]
M&T Bank is in talks with the federal government to resolve an investigation of a pre-crisis sale of FHA-insured and conforming mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that resulted in losses for the government-sponsored enterprises. The New York-based bank disclosed the settlement discussion in a second-quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is cooperating with the investigation. The Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Inspector General are investigating whether M&T Bank complied with FHA’s underwriting guidelines as well as with guidelines for selling loans to Fannie and Freddie. It is unclear how much the FHA paid out in loss claims in this case but investigators said that, based upon their review of a sample of FHA loans for which a claim was paid, “some of the loans do not meet underwriting guidelines.” M&T Bank could be ...
A California federal district court’s recent decision to reject fair housing claims related to FHA loans brought by the City of Los Angeles against Wells Fargo relied heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on disparate impact, according to legal experts. Specifically, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted summary judgment for Wells Fargo in a Fair Housing Act case brought by the City of L.A. The suit alleged that the bank’s mortgage lending practices had a disparate impact on minority borrowers, which resulted in a disparate number of foreclosures in minority areas. Wells Fargo was accused of reverse redlining since at least 2004 by imposing different terms or conditions on minority borrowers. The suit further alleged that Wells Fargo originated eight types of “predatory” home loans targeted to minorities. These loans include “high-cost” loans, subprime loans, interest-only loans, ...
Starting in June 2016, FHA lenders will find delivering origination appraisals will be faster when the agency’s Electronic Appraisal Delivery (EAD) portal becomes fully operational. The FHA will soon begin registration of EAD portal users so that lenders can select their implementation schedule. By using the portal, FHA lenders will find it less cumbersome to do business with the FHA, minimize appraisal errors and reduce post-endorsement corrections of appraisals, the agency said. The EAD portal is a web-based platform that will allow FHA lenders and their third-party service providers to transmit single-family appraisal data and deliver appraisal reports prior to endorsement of a loan for mortgage insurance. Delivery of appraisals via the EAD portal becomes mandatory for all case numbers assigned on or after June 27, 2016. Lenders may use the phase-in implementation period to familiarize themselves and train in the ...