Specifically, the CFPB is seeking comment on what consumers find most problematic about the closing process, including errors and changes at the closing table and the involvement of third-parties.
It may be time for the mortgage industry to take a chill-pill: applications are on the rise again, rates have stabilized and some firms are actually hiring loan officers.
Mortgage lenders large and small have indicated they plan to stay away from making mortgages that do not fit into either the “safe harbor” or the “rebuttable presumption” QM boxes.
According to the bank’s fourth quarter earnings statement, 68 percent of its originations were refis – the mirror image of Wells Fargo, which had 68 percent of its production in purchase-money loans.
As expected, the Mortgage Bankers Association this week lowered its 2014 origination forecast to $1.12 trillion, a $57 billion decrease from its previous estimate. Word of the reduction was making the rounds last week.
The MBA suggested the CFPB increase the "rebuttable presumption" threshold from 150 basis points above the average prime offer rate to 250 basis points so more borrowers with less-than-perfect credit can benefit.
On a sequential basis, the origination results look slightly better: a 38 percent decline compared to the third quarter of 2013 for Wells and a 42 percent downdraft for JPM. Both have laid off thousands of mortgage workers over the few quarters.
RSS