Comment Period for Single Family Handbook Extended. The FHA has extended from July 29 to Aug. 15, 2014 the deadline for submitting feedback on certain sections within the draft Single Family Handbook. Comments are being sought on sections “Doing Business with FHA – FHA Lenders and Mortgagees” and “Quality Control, Oversight and compliance." Both sections’ contents, as well as supporting information, are posted for review and feedback on the SF Drafting Table in the FHA website. Each section’s web page also contains highlights of changes, frequently asked questions (FAQs) and a feedback response worksheet. Julian Castro as New HUD Secretary. Julian Castro was sworn in as the 16th Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development on July 28. He replaces Shaun Donovan, who is now director of the ...

First Republic Bank and JPMorgan Chase were the top two contributors to the scant four jumbo MBS deals that hit the market during the second quarter.

The changes sought by the MBA would also allow mortgage loan officers at banks to more easily transition to working for nonbanks.

The unspoken factor affecting Ocwen's immediate future is Benjamin Lawsky and the New York Department of Financial Services.

The Countrywide purchase, completed in the summer of 2008, has cost BofA close to $60 billion in operating losses and legal settlements, depending on how the numbers are counted.

Ocwen watchers have wondered when – or if – New York state will ever bring any formal charges against the company.

One joke making the rounds in Washington this week: Congress is going on its August vacation. How will we know the difference?

In recent weeks, speculators have been pressing their bets that certain publicly-traded mortgage companies could be in for a world of hurt because origination volumes are likely to remain subdued this year and there is little chance of growth through servicing acquisitions. According to figures compiled by Compass Point Research & Trading and public websites, the two most-shorted mortgage stocks are Nationstar Mortgage and PHH Corp. Measured by the percentage of shares publicly available (known as “float”), Nationstar has...

Smaller and mid-size mortgage lenders were more likely than larger lenders to say their credit standards tightened over the past three months and will tighten more in the next quarter, while larger lenders were more likely to say their credit standards eased in the prior quarter and will continue in the next, according to results of a new lender survey announced by Fannie Mae. The divergent view of credit standards between larger lenders and others is among the key findings of the government-sponsored enterprise’s new Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey. The quarterly survey focuses on the supply side of the mortgage business and dovetails with Fannie’s monthly national survey of consumers, which provides current information on the demand side of housing. Lender survey results collected during the first two quarters of 2014 showed...

Texas was the second largest source of Fannie/Freddie business during the first half, accounting for 7.3 percent of the market.