Is the stock of PHH Corp. so depressed that it's a screaming "buy"?

As the spring homebuying season has progressed, lenders have improved closing times for purchase mortgages, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. Industry participants also report improvements to good faith estimates with fewer closing cost surprises for borrowers. Closing times declined on a number of different mortgage types, based on three-month moving averages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages with a downpayment of at least 20 percent took...

“Rather than earning on the front end, they’re increasing margins on the secondary sale," said mortgage analyst Ken Richey.

There’s still more than a year left before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s integrated mortgage disclosure final rule takes effect. But top industry representatives are urging lenders to begin preparations now, if they haven’t already done so, because of the depth and breadth of the new regulation – and the central role it will play in the origination process. During a general session of the American Bankers Association’s annual regulatory compliance conference, held in New Orleans earlier this month, Rod Alba, senior regulatory counsel for the trade group, said that the CFPB’s TILA/RESPA integrated disclosure – known as TRID – is a massive project. “We cannot take it lightly,” Alba said. He also emphasized...

What does the future hold for the hedge fund-owned Prospect Mortgage?

Credit unions that originate no downpayment mortgages almost always keep the loans in portfolio.

We talked a handful of wholesalers and were told the figure is much lower – in the range of 2.2 percent to 2.5 percent. Broker-sourced loans account for less than 10 percent of all loans funded today,

When in doubt, hire an outside QM/ATR consultant to assure compliance.

Some rating agencies fear that many of the jumbo entrants not only lack historical loan performance data, but have not yet established track records for remedying representation and warranty breaches.

Jumbos for borrowers with strong credit profiles present banks with limited risks – particularly adjustable-rate mortgages – and the loans offer lucrative opportunities to cross-sell other products.