California is set to become the 45th state to allow remote online notarizations for real estate transactions; LOs available 24/7 at Guaranteed Rate; empathetic lenders slow to cut staff; former Black Knight units rebrand as Dark Matter Technologies; Incenter boosts corporate staff; warehouse lending system moves to the cloud.

As severe weather events batter major housing markets, borrowers are finding it difficult and expensive to obtain homeowners insurance, according to panelists at a Mortgage Bankers Association conference.

Michael Nouguier, chief information security officer at Richey May, said the public-facing nature of loan officers’ work can expose them to targeted attacks.

A FASB accounting standards proposal would streamline the methods used to calculate the value of acquired assets.

The MOVEIt ransomware attack has impacted as many as 1,172 companies, including mortgage lenders and servicers.

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.