With rates at the highest they’ve been in 27 months, mortgage lenders have to make sure they keep their costs as low as possible to be competitive. At the same time, they have to retain and attract the most productive loan officers, while still staying within the bounds of the loan originator compensation rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. During a webinar sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance this week, Paul Hindman, managing director at Grid Origination Services, said loan officer recruiting is not just about the Benjamins. “In no particular order, should they decide to explore, loan officers will evaluate and compare the following when assessing the right model match: company brand and culture ([including] mission, vision and values); compensation clarity, [and] loan products and consistent rates/pricing,” he said. Also important are...

In other instances, the home price agreed upon by the buyer and seller might fall within market trends, but the appraiser might not have access to data to verify the value.

Spector will report to Kurland, who founded the PennyMac family of companies in 2008, two years after being forced out of Countrywide Financial Corp.

“Roughly 30 to 40 percent of our customers are eligible to waive escrows,” said UWM CEO Mat Ishbia.

Some industry executives believe the recent spike in interest rates could prove temporary.

At least four names have surfaced for the FHA job in the Trump administration...

However, some nonbank executives feel that with originations expected to decline in 2017, it may time to cut back on compensation paid to LOs.

Freddie Mac believes that refis will decline by 53.0 percent from 2016 to 2017…

With refis drying up, Ally is ready to launch a direct-to-consumer mortgage effort…

Late this week, Nationstar’s common was selling for $19.17 a share, just pennies below its yearly high. PennyMac Financial topped its high for the year.