On the residential side, the top hire was David Firestone, who carries the title of vice president of financial operations.

Did someone really pay a $300,000 signing bonuses to a new LO?

The CFPB recently issued new guidance that warns mortgage brokers to avoid acting as mini-correspondents in an attempt to side-step consumer protection laws and disclose how much money they make on a transaction. The bureau is concerned that some mortgage brokers may be setting up arrangements with investors in which the broker claims to be a “mini-correspondent lender,” when in fact the broker is still essentially just facilitating a transaction between a borrower and a lender. In its new guidance, the agency sets out some of the questions the CFPB may consider in evaluating mortgage transactions involving mini-correspondent lenders in order to understand their true nature. This evaluation involves examining how the mini-correspondent lender is structured and operating. Among the ...

Nationstar Mortgage ranked first among non-agency MBS issuers, but its volume was tied to servicer advances.

Over five years, Fannie and Freddie would be wound down, but would be allowed to be sold and recapitalized as private entities with different business plans.

Lenders are being careful about costs, but rising loan volumes could force some firms to hire, at least a little bit.

Industry reaction to the FHFA IG report on nonbank and small lender risk was swift. Maybe Fannie Mae is better off having Countrywide as its biggest customer again?

Impac Mortgage recently launched a suite of products that don’t meet the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s standards for qualified mortgages. The non-QMs are available via the correspondent channel and are aimed at prime borrowers. The lender refers to its offerings as “Alt QMs,” including a jumbo option, a program for loans slightly outside of agency guidelines and a program that purposefully excludes analysis of a borrower’s tax returns ...

Jumbo borrowers in the market for mortgage financing often decide to work with the bank they already have a relationship with, according to new qualitative survey results from the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. Real estate agents participating in the survey were asked what factors drive an affluent homebuyer’s lender selection when opting for mortgage financing instead of an all-cash home purchase. “I’ve found they like to ...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s request for comments on whether to allow for a right to cure on debt-to-income ratio issues for qualified mortgages prompted the typical divisions between lenders and consumer advocates. Lenders suggest that borrowers would benefit from the adjustment to QM standards, while consumer advocates warn that the change would weaken QM protections and encourage sloppy underwriting. The 43 percent DTI ratio standard for ...