As an increasing share of “baby boomer” mortgage executives reach retirement age over the next few years, there’s a growing concern about a talent “brain drain” from the industry. But rest assured, there’s still plenty of senior managers who plan on working well past the standard retirement age of 65. “The retirement rate of 10,000 people [baby boomers] per day may be applicable to the general population, but I do not think it is applicable to the mortgage banking industry,” said Larry Charbonneau ...

A significant shift occurred in bank loan modification practices in the third quarter of 2015, according to data from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Major banks’ use of proprietary loan mods declined sharply compared with the previous quarter while the number of Home Affordable Modification Program mods was nearly level in that span. The OCC’s data cover eight banks with a combined $3.73 trillion servicing portfolio, 42 percent of all outstanding first-lien residential mortgages ...

The average daily trading volume in agency MBS fell to $180.2 billion in November, hitting a new low for the year, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. Such a low reading is indicative of a lack of liquidity in the market, but by now, investment bankers and policy makers are no longer wringing their hands about the number. The complacency, in part, is fueled...

Originations of adjustable-rate mortgages have not kept pace with overall mortgage production this year, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. An estimated $152 billion in ARMs were originated through the first three quarters of 2015, down 10.1 percent from the same period last year. In that span, total first-lien production has increased by 42.9 percent, according to estimates by affiliated publication Inside Mortgage Finance ... [Includes one data chart]

The volume of home-equity loans held in portfolio at banks and thrifts declined in the third quarter of 2015, according to a new ranking from the Inside Mortgage Finance Bank Mortgage Database.Banks and thrifts held a total of $952.10 million in home-equity lines of credit, HELOC commitments and closed-end second liens at the end of the third quarter, down 1.1 percent compared with the previous quarter. Wells Fargo remained the top bank ... [Includes one data chart]

The national loan limit for FHA-insured single-family mortgages will remain unchanged throughout 2016, but 188 counties will see their high-cost limits rise due to house-price changes. The FHA national loan limit “ceiling” for forward mortgages will remain at $625,500, while the FHA “floor” will stay at $271,050 for next year. For example, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Marin, and Silicon Valley, where the loan limits are currently at $625,500, will see no change in 2016. The same will be true for many counties whose FHA loan limits fall between the national floor and ceiling, like Sacramento and Fresno, for instance. On the other hand, 188 counties like Napa, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego will see their forward loan limits increase by at least $1,150 to as much as $30,240. Each year, FHA readjusts its loan limits based on 115 percent of the median house price in the area. The loan-limit floor is set at ...

An estimated $117.1 billion in VA-guaranteed home loans went into Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed security pools during the first nine months of 2015, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of agency data. The totals for securitized VA purchase and refinance loans in Ginnie pools were almost even - $57.8 billion and $57.6 billion, respectively. Modified VA loans were also included in the total. The volume of VA-backed Ginnie securitization during the first nine months of 2015 far exceeded the $109.5 billion reported for all of 2014. Lenders attributed the production spike to a growing population of active-duty military personnel and veterans returning from foreign deployment and to better outreach efforts. VA originations accounted for 12.1 percent of loans underlying Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae MBS and 25.2 percent of insured loans in those pools. The securitized VA loans showed an ... [ 1 chart ]

Approximately $191.8 billion in FHA-insured mortgage loans were securitized during the first nine months of 2015, surpassing the $158.1 billion of FHA loans that were placed in Ginnie Mae pools last year, agency loan-level data show. Securitized FHA purchase loans accounted for $111.7 billion of Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities issued over the same period. FHA refinance securitization totaled $66.8 billion. Modified FHA loans were also included in Ginnie MBS totals. The FHA loans in Ginnie MBS had an average loan-to-value ratio of 92.9 percent and an average FICO score of 677.5 percent, reflecting the single-family program’s traditional borrower base. The loans had an average debt-to-income ratio of 39.8 percent. FHA loans accounted for 19.8 percent of loans that underlie Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae MBS. On the other hand, the same loans accounted for 41.2 percent of insured loans in ... [ 1 chart ]

The Department of Justice has announced settlements with two nonbank FHA originators to resolve allegations of FHA underwriting fraud and False Claims Act violations. Franklin American Mortgage in Franklin, TN, recently agreed to pay $70 million to resolve allegations it knowingly originated and underwrote FHA-insured loans that did not meet agency guidelines. There were also quality-control issues. According to the DOJ, Franklin Mortgage, a direct endorsement lender, agreed it had certified ineligible loans for FHA insurance starting Jan. 1, 2006, including single-family residential loans, reverse mortgages and streamlined refinances. Those loans later resulted in claims submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, causing losses to the FHA insurance fund. The DOJ also alleged that the nonbank lender employed unqualified junior underwriters and set high quotas for its ...

Quicken Loans’ chief executive officer reiterated threats by company owner Dan Gilbert to exit the FHA business amid concerns about a forthcoming lender-certification rule and an ongoing court battle with the Department of Justice. A report by Reuters quoted Gilbert earlier this week as saying he is considering pulling Quicken Loans out of the FHA market. In an interview with IMFnews, Quicken CEO Bill Emerson said top management would be remiss if it did not think about exiting the business. Quicken will decide whether to stay or go after the FHA releases its revised rule on lender certification later this month, he said. The revised proposal restores a provision initially removed from the original proposal, which would require lenders to certify that neither the firm nor its officers have been suspended, debarred or excluded from participation in any federal agency transactions. In addition, the revised proposed rule requires ...