With 2017 shaping up to be a so-so year for originations, the list of potential buyers of other companies is beginning to grow. Usually, firms that are in the hunt to purchase other shops tend to keep it quiet. Over the past few months, however, several companies have admitted that they’re open to pulling out the checkbook. Included in that camp, at least for right now, are Flagstar Bancorp, Freedom Mortgage, and Impac Mortgage Holdings. Others that are said to be open to deals ...
Blockchain technology could help reduce the compliance costs associated with Regulation AB2, according to the Structured Finance Industry Group and the Chamber of Digital Commerce. The two trade groups recently submitted a comment letter to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in response to FINRA’s report on distributed ledger technology. FINRA, an independent regulator of broker-dealers, is considering the implications of blockchain for the securities industry. Blockchain is...
The secondary market in agency mortgage servicing rights cooled off in the first quarter of 2017 after a hectic end to 2016, according to an exclusive analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Trends. A total of $109.78 billion of agency MSR changed hands during the first three months of the year, down 32.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016. Part of that was due to a 26.2 percent decline in new business volume at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie ... [Includes three data charts]
loanDepot rolled out another aspect of its digital origination software interface last week as a number of lenders work to use technology to improve the mortgage application and origination processes. A mortgage origination process that is completely online or digital is still being pursued by lenders, but officials at loanDepot suggest that the proprietary digital lending platform the nonbank has developed, known as mello, is “the future of lending.” “Technology advancements have ...
What some people might call “hard-core economics” – closing costs and interest rates – along with a lender’s reputation for excellent customer service, play a decisive role in most consumers’ choice of a mortgage lender, according to a new survey from Ally Bank. “Four in five Americans (81 percent) who ever had a mortgage or plan to apply for one in the future said the total amount of closing costs did/would factor into their lender decision,” the bank said in announcing the results ...
A typical first-time homebuyer pays significantly more than a repeat homebuyer does for the same house, according to research by economists at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. They suggested that appraisers could help reduce home prices for first-time homebuyers, though the proposal faces a number of obstacles. The FHFA analysis was based on appraisal information associated with loan applications submitted to the government-sponsored enterprises from the ...