Some mortgage technology consultants, speaking on-background, are prophesizing that the investment will lead to Google moving into the realty market and becoming a direct competitor to traditional Realtors.
“Revenues at some of these firms are going to take a nosedive over the next year or so,” said Anthony Garritano, founder of the Progress in Lending Association, an industry think-tank.
Increased regulation of mortgage brokers has prompted some to switch their business models to become so-called mini-correspondents. Industry lawyers suggest that being a mini-correspondent can offer benefits to those previously working as brokers, but the switch also comes with significant changes to business practices. "If you're a broker, think about what this is going to mean: higher net-worth requirements, warehouse lending, new compliance systems, new software systems to develop and generate the disclosures, and more importantly, significantly higher liability," Jonathan Jaffe, a partner at K&L Gates, said this week during a webinar hosted by the law firm. 'So there's a trade-off there if you're a broker thinking about converting," he said. Some brokers see...
Declining loan production could lead to rampant consolidation among mortgage vendors this year, particularly technology firms, according to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Trends. Revenues at some of these firms are going to take a nosedive over the next year or so, said Anthony Garritano, founder of the Progress in Lending Association, an industry think-tank that focuses on the tech sector. The drop in production volume in the fourth quarter was more than most anticipated ...
Also, Morgan Stanley recently increased its stake in Arch Capital Group to 6.3 percent. Arch owns CMG Mortgage Insurance, which is being renamed Arch Mortgage Insurance Company.
It appears that the Federal Housing Finance Agency has slowed its search for a chief executive and chairman to manage the fledgling common securitization platform, which is slated to be headquartered in Bethesda, MD. One former candidate for the CEO position told Inside The GSEs: Its pretty much turned into the mess I suspected it would a year ago. Discussing the chairman position, he added: They still havent come to terms on compensation for the person they want.
With residential loan production expected to decline by at least 30 percent this year, bank originators are looking at ways to cut costs without damaging their ability to handle an unexpected uptick in applications should rates unexpectedly fall. According to both lending executives and outsourcing firms, inquiries are picking up at vendors that process, underwrite and close residential mortgages. The banks are tired of ramping up and then cutting back, said Jeffrey Taylor, managing partner at Digital Risk ...
In terms of market effect, a DocuTech executive said that because of the new CFPB rules, "credit is going to slow down for a little while, maybe a month or so."