A group of eight large nonbank mortgage lenders managed to post positive earnings on their combined mortgage banking activities during the first quarter of 2015, but they failed to keep pace with a group of 24 banks and thrifts tracked by Inside Mortgage Trends. The eight nonbanks – including the top publicly traded firms that rank high in originations, servicing or both – posted a combined $40.5 million in mortgage-banking income during the first quarter ... [Includes one data chart]

Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie all posted solid gains in volume during April, but Ginnie had the strongest increase with issuance rising more than 32 percent…

Many shops continue to recruit for LOs but with the caveat they have strong ties to Realtors and homebuilders.

It was clear from a panel discussion at the Urban Institute this week that MSRs have grown in importance as a form of collateral...

Industry attorneys noted there has been a resurgence in redlining cases since the mortgage market unraveled in 2007...

Researchers at the Urban Institute found that, although the percentage of first-time homebuyers increased from 2011 to 2014, the national share of first-time homebuyers in the agency mortgage market fell from 57 percent in 2011 to just 54 percent last year. Researchers Bing Bai, Jun Zhu and Laurie Goodman, director of the Housing Finance policy center at the Urban Institute, attributed the change to a decline in FHA’s market share. From 2001 to 2003 ... [Includes one data chart]

Nonbank mortgage firms continue to hire new employees thanks to increasing origination volumes and their ability to whittle away at the market share of the nation’s largest megabank originators. In the first quarter of 2015, lenders of different charters funded a better-than-expected $370 billion with nonbanks accounting for eight of the top 15 origination slots, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, an affiliate publication. Although megabanks such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America and ...

State-licensed mortgage lenders originated $72.8 billion of Veterans Administration home loans during 2014, according to a new analysis of mortgage call report data by Inside Mortgage Trends. VA home loan originations by state-licensed lenders – mostly independent, privately held mortgage bankers – rose 14.5 percent from 2013 to 2014. At the same time, production of conventional and FHA-insured loans fell by 26.3 percent and 23.3 percent, respectively ... [Includes one data chart]

For mortgage originators, going through a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau mortgage examination can be a daunting experience, but not if you walk in thoroughly prepared, according to compliance experts at GrantThornton. A CFPB lending exam can take up to six months to complete, can be quite expensive over time as well as delay business. At most banks and mortgage firms, the staff could work full time on just the CFPB audit, which could result in high overtime costs and ...

While refinance activity grew and accounted for 63 percent of all conventional-conforming originations in the first quarter, the number of borrowers cashing out equity or consolidating loans dipped slightly from 29 percent in the previous quarter to 27 percent. That was still up from 17 percent cash-out share of refinances in the first quarter of 2014, according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly analysis. But Freddie said the net dollars of home equity converted to cash as part of a refinance remained low ...