On the extreme end, 30 percent expressed dissatisfaction with their current LOS but did not say whether they were ready to toss it overboard…

The CFPB Office of Inspector General recently initiated an evaluation of the bureau’s use of vendors to support its analysis of fair lending compliance, the OIG indicated in its latest work plan. The OIG begins by noting, among other responsibilities, the CFPB is charged with providing oversight and enforcement of federal laws intended to ensure the fair, equitable and nondiscriminatory access to credit. But what may surprise many in the industry is to learn that the agency relies on external vendors to help fulfill this responsibility. “Our objective is to assess whether the CFPB effectively mitigates the risk associated with the use of vendors to support fair lending analysis, particularly with respect to potential conflicts of interest,” said the OIG ...

Bulk transfers of Freddie Mac MSRs also increased dramatically in 4Q16, more than doubling to $17.52 billion…

In the past, Home Point has been a selective buyer of servicing rights and other companies...

The mortgage division will employ loan advisors, providing them with incentives that reward service, not just sales...

Agency mortgage servicers last year transferred some $369.44 billion of mortgage-servicing rights tied to mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, according to an exclusive new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis. Thanks to an end-of-year surge, bulk MSR transactions accounted for most of the market. During the fourth quarter, some $76.69 billion of servicing changed hands in bulk transfers, a 76.5 percent jump from ... [Includes three data charts]

Commercial banks saw a sharp drop in mortgage-banking income during the fourth quarter of 2016 that pulled full-year profits below the level reached in 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of earnings reports. A group of 25 top publicly traded banks (including one thrift) reported a combined $13.36 billion in mortgage-banking income for all of 2016, down 7.0 percent from 2015. The sector had a chance of topping last year’s ... [Includes one data chart]

Late last week, when the Department of Housing and Urban Development pulled the plug on reducing FHA premiums by 25 basis points, it was originally thought that perhaps, in time, the new White House might change its mind. As one Washington insider noted, “There was a feeling that with a little education and time and with the right decision-makers in place, that maybe they would let the cut go through. Now I’m not so sure.” An industry lobbyist – with a deep resume on Capitol Hill ...

Credit Plus, a company that offers mortgage-information services, recently launched a product that can help lenders determine why a loan applicant ultimately chose a different lender. The Lost Sales Analysis product was developed by Equifax, a credit bureau. Among other features, the Lost Sales Analysis from Credit Plus can help lenders determine if applicants closed a mortgage with a competitor. Credit Plus can provide the name of the lender associated with the lost sale and a number of ...

In another sign that the housing and mortgage markets continue to heal from their catastrophic collapse in 2007, the national foreclosure rate in the U.S. dropped by 30.53 percent in 2016, ending the year at 0.95 percent of active mortgages, according to new data from Black Knight Financial Services. “This marks the most improvement Black Knight has seen in any year on record,” the firm said in its “first look” at December 2016 month-end mortgage performance statistics. Also, the inventory of ...