The correspondent channel during the third quarter of 2015 took its biggest share of total mortgage originations in years, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. Mortgage lenders acquired $165 billion of home loans from correspondent originators during the third quarter, a 1.9 percent increase at a time when overall production fell 7.1 percent. The surge pushed the correspondent share of new originations to 36.3 percent ... [Includes four data charts]

Stonegate Mortgage – which holds the distinction of being the last nonbank mortgage firm to go public – is in the process of disposing of a large swath of its retail branch network in favor of a third-party originator strategy that relies heavily on brokers and correspondents. In total, it expects to close 47 branches outright by yearend or allow the offices to be taken over by a competitor. Although the company declined to discuss its strategy, recent press statements indicate it will maintain

Seven years after the financial crisis that nearly devastated the U.S. economy, the mortgage finance industry finds itself in a far better place than before the crisis but facing new challenges brought on by a tighter credit box and new regulations, according to panelists at a housing symposium late last week in Washington, DC. Hosted by the Urban Institute and CoreLogic, the forum assessed the progress of the mortgage financing industry since the financial crisis abated ...

The first nine months of 2015 have seen a tremendous increase in FHA single-family originations as borrowers took advantage of a 50 basis-point premium reduction implemented earlier this year, according to Inside FHA/VA Lending’s analysis of agency data. Total FHA loan production during the first nine months of 2015 was up a whopping 81.3 percent increase. Data also showed a 13.1 percent increase in the third quarter from the prior quarter. It is hard to imagine that back in February this year, we reported a dismal ending for 2014, where overlays and high-loan costs caused an 8.1 percent decline in FHA endorsements in the fourth quarter and a 36.6 percent drop from 2013. In 2015, FHA fixed-rate originations increased 12.7 percent from the second to the third quarter, and rose 86.0 percent on a year-to-date basis. In 2014, conversion ... [ 2 charts ].

First-lien portfolio holdings continued to increase in the third quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside Nonconforming Markets analysis of bank and thrift call reports. Banks and thrifts held $1.85 trillion in first-lien mortgages in portfolio at the end of September, up 0.3 percent compared with the end of the second quarter and a 2.8 percent increase compared with the third quarter of 2014. Wells Fargo had the largest portfolio at $266.3 billion as of ... [Includes one data chart]

President Obama last week threatened to veto legislation progressing in Congress to provide qualified-mortgage status to loans held in portfolio by depository institutions. Industry analysts suggest that the bill still has a chance at being signed into law, if adjustments are made. The House approved H.R. 1210, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act, on a 255-174 vote last week. Similar legislation is under consideration in the Senate. The bill in the House would ...

Despite FHA’s denial of further mortgage insurance premium reductions any time soon, stakeholders are holding out hope for another cut in the near future. Those supporting the idea of another pricing adjustment say it could open the door wider for more borrowers to use the FHA single-family program and generate the volume needed to offset any potential revenue loss that may result from the reduction. But Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and his top officials have denied any plans of reducing MIPs. Castro has called such talk “premature,” despite a positive FY 2015 actuarial evaluation of the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, which some claim could be used to justify another premium reduction. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing and Interim FHA Chief Ed Golding, in a press briefing, said the focus is elsewhere and not on ...

Though the Department of Housing and Urban Development strongly highlighted the positive aspects of the FY 2015 actuarial report on the state of Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, it also downplayed the impact of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage portfolio on the latest projections. FHA’s volatile HECM portfolio has had an unpredictable impact on the MMI Fund – a drag in some years and a boost in others. According to the report, the actuarial value of HECM capital has swung dramatically over the last four years and stood at $6.8 billion in FY 2015, up from negative $1.2 billion in fiscal 2014. The 6.44 percent spike in HECM gains helped boost the MMI Fund’s capital reserve ratio to 2.07 percent, in excess of the minimum 2.0 percent capital requirement. Excluding HECMs, the FHA fund – and the forward portfolio – would be at 1.6 percent, below the 2.0 percent threshold. The ...

The FHA has issued temporary guidance for approving condominium projects for agency financing – a good first step, according to industry groups. Stakeholders have been waiting for a broader rewrite of the condominium rules for years, and they see the interim guidance as limited but positive. Announced on Nov. 13, the guidance is in place for a year while the FHA works on a more comprehensive rule that addresses all condominium lenders’ concerns. The temporary guidelines modify the requirements for condominium project recertification. It can cost up to $3,000 and, in some cases, take more than a year, to complete a condominium recertification project. The certification is good for only two years. Condo projects run afoul of FHA rules when the certification lapses, rendering the ...

New York financial regulators have barred VA lender New Day Financial from doing any more business in the state for allegedly cheating on state-required continuing-education courses and examinations. The New York Department of Financial Services slapped the Fulton, MD-based lender (also doing business as New Day USA) with a $1 million fine and ordered it to surrender its mortgage banker’s license. The department accused top New Day executives as well as current and former employees of perpetrating an elaborate cheating scheme whereby compliance staffers took the required education courses and exams on behalf of senior managers and loan officers. According to state regulators, the cheating happened on numerous occasions and involved at least 20 New Day loan originators. The MLOs shared screen-shots of questions included in the National Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLSR) exams and ...