Lenders such as Bank of America and Quicken are hooked on refis. What might the future hold for these funders as purchase loans begin to dominate?

In less than a month Wells Fargo has unveiled mortgage-related layoffs of 4,100. Some of those receiving pink slips could find other work at the bank.

Almost 19 percent of the loans in the new Penny Mac jumbo MBS were originated by mortgage brokers.

Analysts are now suggesting that higher interest rates along with rising home prices will constrain housing affordability.

Banks and savings institutions in the second quarter of 2013 reported the lowest volume of mortgage repurchases and indemnifications since the buyback blight really bit into the industry four years ago, according to a new call report analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. Banks and thrifts reported $2.671 billion in mortgage repurchases and indemnifications during the second quarter, the industry’s lowest since the second quarter of 2009, when buybacks totaled $2.059 billion ... [Includes one data chart]

Rising interest rates, falling prepayment speeds and a strengthening secondary market in mortgage servicing rights combined to push MSR valuations significantly higher during the second quarter, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call report data. Banks and savings institutions serviced a total of $4.869 trillion of home mortgages for other investors as of the end of the second quarter. Collectively, they estimated a fair market value of $48.70 billion for their MSR assets ... [Includes two data charts]

Declining origination volume and narrower secondary market margins squeezed mortgage production income during the second quarter of 2013, but servicing income continued to improve, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The average firm participating in the MBA’s quarterly performance survey reported pretax income of $3.068 million during the second quarter. That was down 16.0 percent from the first three months of the year and the lowest quarterly profit since the first quarter of 2012 ...

The refinance market may have largely spent itself for now, but the future of the purchase-mortgage market looks bright – and the path to success in that space is mobile technology, according to a leading industry executive. “The mother of all purchase markets is brewing,” said Bill Dallas, CEO of Skyline Home Loans, during a webinar sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance this week. “The market is coming off a purchase bottom and is ready for a shift to purchase.” The Mortgage Bankers Association projects that ...

Thanks to declining refinance activity, the long-awaited slowdown in originations is finally here with mortgage professionals starting to worry about their jobs. For now, it appears that most of the employment losses – at least those at the megabanks – have come in the area of “back office” workers, including loan processors and underwriters. But servicing and due diligence-related positions also have been cut because of improving loan quality. Mortgage banking firms shed 1,200 positions ...

IBM announced last week that it is offering a digital loan-processing platform that will allow borrowers to engage in the loan application process via a smartphone or tablet. Eric Ray, a general manager of IBM’s financial services sector, said the IBM Digital Loan Platform will help lenders connect with borrowers. “We believe delivering a transformational customer experience will differentiate future mortgage leaders from the pack,” he said. “By partnering with IBM, lenders can out-maneuver ...