Nationstar Mortgage is telling potential investors in the company that it plans to be a significant player in settlement services, REO management, processing and other areas.

Lender Processing Services settles robosigning allegations with the states.

National MI, the Emeryville, CA-based mortgage insurer started by former executives at The PMI Group, has yet to write its first policy, but may soon.

Mortgage banking income increased at a faster rate than did secondary market sales during the third quarter of 2012. Huge gain-on-sale margins pushed the industry to its most profitable quarter, according to an analysis of call report numbers by Inside Mortgage Trends.

Here’s a pop quiz: Which top-ranked lender saw its residential fundings fall by 58 percent during the first nine months of the year while the rest of the competition soared? Answer: Bank of America.

PNC Financial said it will take a $254 million charge in the fourth quarter to cover mortgage repurchase claims tied to the GSEs.

Mortgage lenders saw a welcome decline in the volume of repurchases and indemnifications they had to make during the third quarter, but a new analysis of two major databases by Inside Mortgage Trends reveals that the industry made little progress in resolving the massive overhang of disputes involving loans from the depth of the housing crisis.

Outside investors poking around the mortgage banking industry for a possible franchise deal first and foremost want the companies they’re courting to have Ginnie Mae approvals. “If you have the Ginnie eagle, it’s golden,” said Chuck Klein, managing director for mergers and acquisitions for Mortgage Banking Solutions. “Retained Ginnie servicing is what it’s all about.” Klein, of course, isn’t...

Mortgage bankers funded $232.69 billion worth of FHA loans in 2012, a 22 percent jump from the year prior, but the improvement pales in comparison to business gains experienced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to exclusive loan-level data compiled by Inside FHA Lending. By comparison, Fannie grew its business by almost 46 percent last year with Freddie improving loan purchases from seller/servicers by 49 percent. Still, it was FHA’s best quarterly showing ($64.03 billion) since the fourth quarter of 2010 when mortgage lenders originated $72.12 billion of product. And not surprisingly, consumers taking out FHA loans ... [2 charts]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has sweetened the pot to encourage more investors to participate in an FHA program for disposing of real estate-owned properties to ease HUD’s housing inventory. HUD announced it is raising the discount for REO properties under its First Look Sales Method to 15 percent from 10 percent. Properties include those that do not meet the standards for FHA insurance. The special program was launched in 2010 to give preference to eligible purchasers under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to ...