High interest rates push down rate lock activity in August; Guaranteed Rate touts five-minute approvals; startup aims to link homebuyers with assumable mortgages; foreclosures increase; MISMO updates offerings.

Overall, mortgage-banking income at banks increased by 8.7% from the first to the second quarter, though income declined at several top banks. (Includes data chart.)

It’s not exactly the best time for a mortgage company to go public, especially with conventional rates north of 7%. But Better.com pulled it off. Then again, its share price is a nightmare and institutional investors are leery.

State tax exemptions on municipal bonds encourage banks to load up on the asset. But to offset their exposure to the local real estate market, banks loosen credit to increase their out-of-state mortgage originations.

James Brody, a senior litigation partner at Garris Horn, provided strategies lenders could use to avoid repurchase demands, which included negotiating contract terms, diversifying their investor deck and outsourcing underwriting.

The mortgage industry has been slow to adopt eClosing despite the fact that it could help reduce origination costs and streamline business processes.

ICE and Black Knight have agreed to complete the divestitures of the Empower and Optimal Blue businesses within 20 days after they consummate their merger next week, among other concessions.

Blend is taking steps to turn a profit after years of losses. The moves include increasing revenue per mortgage transaction and decreasing expenses through layoffs.

Community awareness of and reckoning with systemic racism following the BLM protests in 2020 appears to have led lenders to reduce the interest rate gap between Black and white borrowers.

Lenders are entering cost-cutting mode and looking to leverage new technologies to lower overhead while streamlining operations.