Mortgage banking firms managed to increase their employee rolls by 1,200 workers as autumn began, even though traditionally this is the time when lenders cut back. Hiring at mortgage brokerage shops remained relatively flat at 77,100, according to figures compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS found that mortgage banking companies had 218,300 full-timers on their payrolls at the end of August, a meager sequential gain of 0.5 percent. The figures, which are seasonally adjusted, do not distinguish between production and servicing workers.
A significant percentage of active Ginnie Mae issuers use subservicers in their operations, and agency officials estimate that 22 subservicers handle roughly a third, or $510 billion, of the program’s portfolio. The four top subservicers handle approximately 21 percent of Ginnie’s total portfolio or 65 percent of the subserviced portion. During the recent Ginnie Mae annual conference in Arlington, VA, representatives from Lakeview Loan Servicing, Pingora Asset Management and ...
The volume of cash-out refinance in the second quarter reached its highest level in five years as more borrowers take advantage of rising home values, according to Black Knight Financial Services. Cash-out refinance volumes in the second quarter of 2015 rose close to 70 percent from the same period last year, said Ben Graboske, a Black Knight senior vice president. Today’s levels are comparable to those in 2006, with borrowers now taking out an average of ...
In the years after the financial crisis, returns on mortgage-banking activities have been more profitable for smaller banks than for large banks, according to researchers at the Federal Reserve. In an analysis of about 1,000 banks, William Bassett, a deputy associate director, and John Driscoll, a senior economist, found that returns on mortgage sales and securitization have been higher for community banks than for larger banks. Community banks also had higher returns on ...
A slightly larger percentage of mortgage loan applications were turned down by lenders in 2014 than in 2013, according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. The reason may be linked to the early 2014 effective date for the ability-to-repay rule and the qualified mortgage standard. The two most common reasons for loan denial have historically been poor credit history and excessive debt-to-income ratio. Both became more prevalent in 2014 ... [Includes one data chart]
“The issues that have impeded the regulators’ ability to conduct electronic examinations must be rectified, and when resolved, will enable a more efficient and timely regulatory process,” said Karyn Tierney, chair of the MMC.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week announced a new “origination defects and remedies framework” designed to give lenders more clarity about underwriting problems that could lead to a repurchase demand. The framework sets three categories of loan defect: findings, price-adjusted loans and significant defects. Findings are negligible defects that had no effect on whether the loan was acceptable to the government-sponsored enterprise. The GSE will not require a price adjustment or other remedy from the lender, though it may request updated data regarding the loan. Price-adjusted loans are...
An acquirer of mortgage servicing rights has agreed to pay $1.5 million and to stop committing further violations to resolve charges of misstating net income and misleading the Securities and Exchange Commission about its relationship with servicer Ocwen Financial Group. The settlement agreement between the SEC and Home Loan Servicing Solutions is the latest twist in the long-running federal and state investigations of Ocwen and its relationships with affiliated companies, which have included HLSS, Altisource Residential, Altisource Portfolio Solutions and Altisource Asset Management. The common thread in all five companies is...
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