loanDepot Inc. this week priced its much anticipated initial public offering, valuing its soon-to-be-listed shares – 34.5 million units in total – at $18 each or roughly $621 million, a lofty valuation for a company that owns just over $20.9 billion in mortgage servicing rights. Few in the industry are questioning loanDepot’s explosive growth since its inception five years ago, but eyebrows have been raised about the anticipated size of the deal. “It’s...

Seemingly small differences in monthly mortgage payments for borrowers in bankruptcy helped prompt an $81.6 million settlement between Wells Fargo and the Department of Justice late last week. The DOJ’s U.S. Trustee Program said Wells repeatedly violated federal bankruptcy rules that took effect in December 2011 and imposed more detailed disclosure requirements to ensure proper accounting of fees and charges for borrowers in bankruptcy. The main instance cited in the settlement agreement was...

On Thursday, Inside Mortgage Finance quoted one source as saying loanDepot’s valuation is “a bit aggressive.”

Meanwhile, mortgage servicing values have firmed up the past month, thanks to the recent rise in interest rates...

Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, said he would not touch the mortgage interest deduction, but Dr. Ben Carson wasn't as friendly...

According to Freddie’s recent 10-Q filing, the GSE has plenty of NPLs left to sell.

“I don’t think it does a lot of good to play the ‘blame game’ and I don’t think that’s where the solution lies,” said Brian Benson, CEO of ClosingCorp.

According to a transcript of the earnings call, PHH also is contemplating exiting the FHA program.

KBRA noted that this will be the first post-crisis deal to include a significant contribution of mortgages from UBS Bank.

Mortgage broker employment hit a multi-year low of 55,200 jobs in the spring of 2011, but the sector has steadily added workers...