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.

The mortgage industry has been slow to adopt eClosing despite the fact that it could help reduce origination costs and streamline business processes.

ICE and Black Knight have agreed to complete the divestitures of the Empower and Optimal Blue businesses within 20 days after they consummate their merger next week, among other concessions.

Blend is taking steps to turn a profit after years of losses. The moves include increasing revenue per mortgage transaction and decreasing expenses through layoffs.

Community awareness of and reckoning with systemic racism following the BLM protests in 2020 appears to have led lenders to reduce the interest rate gap between Black and white borrowers.

Lenders are entering cost-cutting mode and looking to leverage new technologies to lower overhead while streamlining operations.

Reform efforts in the state have focused on increasing the inventory of residentially-zoned land while leaving unaddressed underlying cost drivers constraining feasibility, according to researchers.

High interest rates are cutting into demand for mortgages; many consumers’ expectations for interest rates are wrong; ICE and Black Knight move close to merger; servicer using blockchain, lender guarantees underwriting results from AI; Flagstar’s mortgage tech accelerator; mortgage payoff fraud attempts increase.

Mr. Cooper’s servicing portfolio is expanding while the number of employees in the nonbank’s call center is declining. Investment in technology is helping to reduce costs and fuel servicing growth.