Holdings of first-lien mortgages by banks and thrifts increased in the third quarter, according to an Inside Nonconforming Markets analysis of call reports. Banks and thrifts held $2.07 trillion of first liens in their portfolios at the end of September, up 1.2 percent from June and 4.3 percent from a year ago. The holdings have largely been boosted by jumbo mortgages along with loans eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises ... [Includes one data chart]

An increase in asset-based underwriting by banks prompted warnings from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last week. The OCC said its examiners have seen greater use of asset dissipation underwriting, a practice used to qualify borrowers using a hypothetical income stream from their asset liquidation rather than debt-to-income ratios. Banks are increasingly using asset dissipation or asset depletion as a response to “intense competition” from nonbanks, among other ...

The outstanding volume of mortgages serviced for other investors by banks and thrifts has been falling almost constantly in the aftermath of the financial crisis, but the third quarter of 2018 saw a relatively rare increase. Banks and thrifts serviced $3.627 trillion of residential mortgages for other investors – typically mortgage-backed securities trusts – at the end of September, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data ... [Includes one data chart]

Two federal banking regulators have raised concerns about risks associated with nonbanks gaining market share in the mortgage industry. In a report published this week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said banks are loosening mortgage underwriting standards in response to “intense competition” from nonbanks. The OCC cited higher thresholds for back-end debt-to-income ratios, higher acceptable loan-to-value ratios and lower downpayment requirements. The trends were ...

Thanksgiving to early spring is known as “LO recruiting season” in some corners of the industry. And in a softer origination market, that theoretically means mortgage executives can reduce compensation packages for loan originator sales staff. Not necessarily. Yes, originations are on a downward trend, but some entrepreneurial-minded CEOs might argue that in a tough market top-performing loan officers are worth their weight in gold. Included in that camp is Paul Rozo, CEO of ...

Mortgage banking profits eroded during the third quarter of 2018 as the industry continued to wrestle with overcapacity and sluggish origination volume. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest quarterly performance report, the average mortgage banking operation generated $946,000 in pretax income during the July-September cycle, a 31.6 percent decline from the previous quarter. Third-quarter profits were still somewhat stronger than those earned in late 2017 and early this year ...

Federal regulators last week proposed a significant expansion in the number of non-agency mortgages that will not need a full appraisal. Currently, non-agency mortgages with loan balances of less than $250,000 don’t need an appraisal if originated by a bank. The regulators proposed increasing the threshold to $400,000. Mortgages below the appraisal threshold still require an evaluation, just not a full appraisal. Banking regulators said the proposal is an effort to reduce ...

The vast majority of commercial banks and savings institutions that have mortgage banking operations post positive results from those activities, but overall profitability fell significantly in the third quarter of 2018. A new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data reveals the banking industry earned $4.025 billion from mortgage banking during the three-month period ending in September. That was down 14.5 percent from the second quarter, when ... [Includes one data chart]

It’s that time of the year again: Declining originations mixed with seasonality are causing consternation among residential originators, with lay-off notices proliferating at shops both large and small. However, a greater sense of panic is beginning to seep in this time around. Rates are the highest they’ve been in several years and the purchase-money sector is beginning to look long in the tooth. The nation’s largest home lender, Wells Fargo, recently announced plans to chop 900 ...

The FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund is generally healthy but for its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, according to the latest FHA audit of the MMIF. In its 2018 report to Congress this week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development had good and bad news regarding the financial condition of the insurance fund. The good news is that the economic value of the MMIF, which backs the FHA’s single-family loan programs, increased to $34.7 billion in fiscal 2018 from $26.7 billion a year ago. Total capital resources rose to $49.2 billion from $40.9 billion during the same period. For the fourth consecutive year, the fund exceeded its statutory capital reserve ratio of 2.00 percent. The ratio rose to 2.76 percent in 2018 from 2.18 percent last year. Premium reductions, had they been in effect, would have reduced the fund’s economic net worth and dropped its capital ratio, industry ...