Nonbank mortgage lenders accounted for 43.3 percent of the total originations produced by the top 100 lenders during the first quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. That was up from a 42.7 percent share of production by the top 100 in the fourth quarter of 2014 and a 38.0 percent share a year ago. The 48 nonbanks that ranked in the top 100 originators had a combined $133.35 billion in first-quarter production, up 13.0 percent from the fourth quarter. Banks and thrifts still play...[Includes one data table]

A number of recent headline-generating fair lending settlements may have focused largely on issues of pricing disparities, but there has been a sea change among policymakers these days moving in the direction of greater access to mortgage credit, some industry experts say. During an Inside Mortgage Finance webinar this week, Jeffrey Naimon, a partner in the Washington, DC, office of the BuckleySandler law firm, said the industry is seeing a pendulum swing from the focal point of concern being loan pricing to loan access. “Especially during the time when subprime loans were available, there was a lot of concern that minority borrowers were being steered into higher-cost subprime loans,” he told attendees. “The adoption of the loan originator compensation rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau affected...

An increase in existing home sales during May offers further evidence of an improved housing market, thanks in part to first-time buyers taking advantage of recent mortgage initiatives. The National Association of Realtors said the number of existing home sales rose to 5.35 million, up from 5.09 million in April, and up 9.2 percent from the 4.90 million transactions reported a year ago. That was the strongest sales rate since 2009. “We have seen...

J.P. Wieske, legislative liaison and public information officers for the WIC, confirmed that the state has made an information request, but would not address content.

“With the Fannie [Mae] discount gone, I’m not sure it’s worth staying a member,” said this executive, regarding the Lenders One cooperative...

Flagstar is losing its chief legal officer...

Meanwhile, the FHA share of the application market fell slightly to 13.9 percent...

And these very same aggregators have made demands of the retail funders they bought the loans from in the first place

The CRC believes the pool of aspiring homeowners does not have affordable financing options comparable to the liquidity provided to investors that are buying up homes en masse...

Early this month, when Freddie Mac made it automated systems free, Fannie said it would not follow in Freddie’s footsteps...