Even though only 14 servicers were ordered by federal regulators to change some of their practices, there is a general understanding that the rest of the industry will also have to adhere to some of the new standards just to keep up and avoid future problems, according to experts at a webinar hosted this week by...

Even though the collapse in the mortgage market took down some bigger lenders structured as real estate investment trusts, the surviving REITs have emerged stronger and some are edging back into originations. Market capitalization for the sector has surged, from about $1.6 billion in 2000 to $36.1 billion (residential) as of May 31, 2011, according to a new report by analysts at Keefe Bruyette & Woods. But there have been some pretty big sinkholes along the way, with Thornburg Mortgage and New Century forced to shutter their operations. Their demise represented a combined loss of...

The two leading accounting standards-setting bodies have different approaches when it comes to how best to analyze the effectiveness of a mortgage lending or other financial hedging strategy. And as they seek to improve, simplify and harmonize their approaches, the mortgage industry has come out in support of...

Shellpoint Partners, a specialty finance company, has completed the acquisition of New Penn Financial to provide residential mortgage products to creditworthy borrowers who are locked out of the market. Acquisition cost and other details of the transaction, which was announced June 2, were not disclosed. The New York-based Shellpoint Partners said acquiring New Penn will provide additional liquidity and options to creditworthy borrowers who do not fit the existing underwriting criteria for government-backed mortgages, including jumbo loan borrowers and...

The quality of mortgages has been exceptional in the handful of non-agency mortgage securities issued over the past few years, but industry analysts question the sustainability of such high standards on a long-term basis as the mortgage market responds to change. “Recently originated prime jumbo loans reviewed by Fitch appear to be...

The Mortgage Bankers Association has asked the FHA to allow the use of electronic signatures on all FHA loan origination forms to help reduce fraud and other procedural issues in the home buying process. E-signatures are already acceptable under federal law and by the FHA under certain circumstances, the MBA noted in a letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The use of e-signatures helps reduce the time required to close a mortgage loan, which may lead to...

In a move that might bring more certainty to the role of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems in the foreclosure process, Fannie Mae is requiring lenders to more clearly identify MERS-registered mortgages. The government-sponsored enterprise already requires lenders to report the MERS Mortgage Identification Number for mortgages originated with MERS as the nominee for the mortgagee or assigned to MERS. Then two weeks ago, Fannie announced several updates to its selling guide having to do with MERS-registered mortgages, one of which is...

Good judicial fortune turned against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems recently in a foreclosure-related case in Oregon despite previous positive precedence. In Hooker v. Northwest Trustee Services, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted the plaintiff's request for a declaratory judgment that defendants MERS, Bank of America and Northwest Trustee Services as successor trustee violated...

FHA originations in April totaled $15.33 billion, down 6.7 percent from March and 28.6 percent from the same period last year, according to Inside FHA Lending’s latest ranking of the top 50 FHA lenders. Fixed-rate mortgages accounted for the bulk of originations among the top lenders at 92.2 percent, while 67.3 percent of FHA lending in April was for home purchase mortgages. In the first quarter, government-insured lending fell significantly, as did all other sectors of the single-family originations market. FHA and VA originations dropped 24.0 percent during the period. Refinance loans accounted for... [Includes one data chart]

VA originations fell 10.4 percent during the first quarter, following a downward trend in all four corners of the single-family mortgage originations market during the period. Veteran mortgage originations totaled $18.15 billion in 1Q11, down from $20.26 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to Department of Veterans Affairs data. Interest Rate Refinancing loans accounted for 40.7 percent of total VA loan production during the first three months of the year. The top 25 VA lenders combined for $12.08 billion with a little more than half in refis for a 66.6 percent share of the VA market. They, too, saw their volume drop ... [Includes one graph and one data chart]