FHA reverse mortgage production fell during the first nine months of 2014 compared to same period in the prior year due to changes made by the agency to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program. The nine-month HECM volume stood at $10.1 billion as of Sept. 30, down 14.8 percent from the previous nine-month period in 2013, according to an Inside FHA Lending analysis of agency data. Volume also fell 9.8 percent on a quarter-to-quarter basis. HECM purchase loans accounted for 93.5 percent of the market while a large majority, 77.0 percent, appeared to favor adjustable-rate reverse mortgages over fixed-rate reverse mortgages. Limited maximum draws in the first year and reduction of principal limit factors – actions taken by HUD to improve the HECM program – significantly decreased the demand for HECM products compared with ... [ 1 chart ]

Ginnie Mae issuance fell 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 as the agency closed a busy year with more than $288.1 billion in total business, according to analysis of agency data. Home-purchase loans, at $192.6 billion, comprised the bulk of new government-loan securitizations, while refinances accounted for $73.0 billion. Loan modifications represented $22.6 billion in total issuances. FHA funneled $158.1 billion in loans to Ginnie Mae while VA and Rural Housing Development loans accounted for $109.5 billion and $19.9 billion, respectively. Wells Fargo led all Ginnie MBS issuers with $57.6 billion followed by PennyMac in distant second with $16.7 billion. Chase Home Finance landed in third place with $15.0 billion while Freedom Mortgage closed the year in fourth place with $14.8 billion. Rounding out the top five Ginnie Mae issuers, Quicken Loans ended 2014 with ... [ 1 chart ]

Mortgage underwriting standards have loosened in recent years, led by the jumbo market and reduced overlays on agency mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. However, underwriting standards aren’t nearly as lenient as they were in the early 2000s, prompting some to call for further loosening. The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index has trended up since the beginning of 2012. “Most of the action in terms of loosening has been on the jumbo side,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA chief economist, at a talk hosted this week by the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center. Separately, he noted...

Molly Boesel, a senior economist at CoreLogic, said mortgages originated in the past four years are among the most pristine loans made in the past two decades.

“There’s a lot of 60- and 70-year old mortgage managers out there.”

BofA has been a steady seller of mortgage servicing rights the past three years and seems to have no interest in being a subservicer.

Profit margins and a number of other mortgage banking metrics will continue to be stable in the first quarter of 2015, according to a Fannie Mae survey of senior executives at 192 lenders. “The share of lenders reporting a decreased profit margin outlook over the next three months appears to have remained relatively stable at around 30 percent since the second quarter,” Fannie said of the fourth-quarter survey results. Compliance costs, declining demand from borrowers and ...

The share of lenders reporting a decreased profit margin outlook over the next three months appears to have remained relatively stable.

The category of “incorrect information” continues to make up the lion’s share of the complaints, ICFPB found.

Some banks pay between 50 and 80 basis points per loan. At the top end of the market are loan officers who earn between 150 and 200 basis points per transaction.