Freddie Mac reported that 82 percent of homeowners who refinanced in the third quarter kept the same loan amount or reduced their principal balance by paying-in additional money at the closing table. Of this group, 37 percent reduced their principal balance and 44 percent maintained around the same loan amount. The other 18 percent were cash-out borrowers, who increased their loan balance by approximately 5 percent. For refi borrowers taking a new 30-year FRM, the median interest rate reduction was about 1.2 percentage points. In practice, that means a borrower with a $200,000 loan saves $2,500 in interest payments during...

Despite buying back some $5.4 billion in mortgages during the third quarter of 2011, mortgage lenders made only a small dent in the huge number of unresolved disputes with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over representations and warranties. According to third-quarter financial reports from the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie and Freddie still had a whopping $12.2 billion of outstanding repurchase claims as of the end of September. That was down only slightly from the $12.7 billion in unresolved buybacks at the midway point in the year. The GSEs reported that seller-servicers...(Includes one data chart)

The prototype mortgage disclosure forms that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been testing are getting generally positive responses for their content and overall design. But they aren’t well suited for the ways in which consumer shopping is adapting to modern technology, according to the Consumer Mortgage Coalition. “Recently, software available on mobile web access devices such as smartphones and tablets has streamlined the home and mortgage shopping process,” the CMC pointed out in its comments on round 5 of the CFPB’s integrated consumer mortgage disclosure project. “This technology is evolving rapidly ... [and] the amount of information available to consumers will continue to increase rapidly in the future.” Given this reality, it does not appear that the Loan Estimate disclosure will be used as a shopping tool because the consumer will have finished shopping by the time they apply for a loan.

Credit rating agencies appear to be more generous in rating structured finance products over other bond types because they tend to bring in more revenue, according to a recent study by academics. Researchers at Indiana University, American University and Rice University said that, contrary to assertions by the top credit rating agencies, asset classes are not equal when it comes to ratings. The study “Credit Ratings Across Asset Classes: A=A?” claims there is overwhelming evidence that structured products, such as MBS, receive significantly higher, more optimistic ratings than those assigned to bonds issued by...

Mortgage banking profits rebounded in the third quarter of 2011 as loan production levels began to climb, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. A representative sample of 15 major mortgage lenders revealed aggregate net income from mortgage banking activities rebounded back into positive territory after thudding to a whopping loss in the previous quarter. The group posted aggregate mortgage banking income of $4.72 billion in the third quarter, compared to a combined $11.40 billion loss in the previous three-month period. The group’s massive second-quarter loss was largely...(Includes one data chart)

It has been four years since fault lines in the subprime market sent tremors through the rest of the mortgage industry and three years since the global collapse of financial markets, but lender behavior today remains driven by fear. Originators ask themselves three questions in the current market, said William Rayburn, CEO at mortgage technology provider FNC, during a panel session at the ABS East conference sponsored last week by Information Management Network. Lenders want to know whether the application will close – it costs them money if it can’t – and whether they can sell the loan if it closes, he said. Just as important...

Consumers who shop for their mortgages online are increasingly of a higher overall credit quality, and their approach to shopping online is growing more sophisticated, according to a new benchmarking study by Mortgagebot LLC. And that raises the ante for mortgage lenders that want to compete in cyberspace, said officials at the Mequon, WI-based information technology provider. The three most significant take-aways for lenders from the new survey have to do with growing borrower sophistication (and the resultant increase in customer expectation), the lender rate of online technology adoption and what online mortgage lending experts call...

Overwhelmed by the tidal wave of foreclosures and under intense scrutiny by lawmakers and regulators, the mortgage industry and default servicers in particular are being challenged like never before to keep up with complex, ever-changing compliance rules and they are in dire need of a technology solution to keep up with the changes. Compliance technology vendors such as Irvine, CA-based DecisionReady are striving to keep up with the demands of their clients, who may not exactly know what they want but know they need a solution that keeps them connected and on top of the latest legal and procedural changes, according to...

Wells Fargo accounted for a whopping 26.1 percent of home mortgages originated during the third quarter, and when you throw in the production numbers for other kingpins in the industry it’s hard to see how small lenders survive. But beneath the gaudy market shares of the Wells Fargos and JPMorgan Chases of the world stand hundreds of small originators – mortgage brokers, community banks, credit unions and old-school independent mortgage bankers – that feed them a significant amount of business. The key to finding success under the shadow of the industry giants is developing a speciality, usually coupled with an obsession for...

A niche FHA mortgage insurance program could become a significant tool to help address the massive inventory of real estate owned, and soon-to-be REO, that continues to weigh on the housing market, some industry observers say. The FHA 203k program was designed to help borrowers who want to purchase a “fixer-upper” home. Started back in 1978, the program insures long-term loans that include both the purchase and rehabilitation of the property. But in 1996, the Department of Housing and Urban Development put a moratorium on issuing 203k loans to private investor-owners, citing instances of fraud and abuse and the inability to...