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 ...

Menendez Introduces HAWK Amendment in T-HUD Appropriations Bill. The National Association of Realtors recently sent a thank-you note to Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, for introducing an amendment to H.R. 2577, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2016, to restore HUD’s authority to offer the Homeowners Armed with Knowledge (HAWK) program. Lawmakers who were concerned about the financial condition of the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund denied funding for the HAWK program last year in a continuing spending bill, effectively stalling the program for a year. The HAWK program is a key component of the FHA’s Blueprint for Access, which was designed to open up the credit box for underserved borrowers. Specifically, program participants will benefit from reductions in FHA premiums once they complete ...

All of the red ink spilled on MSR marks in the third quarter will be reversed and turned into gains when servicers report their results early next year? “Generally, that’s correct,” said one mortgage CEO.

Freddie notes, “The volume of specialty servicing may shrink as the number of legacy loans dwindles, but specialty servicing is likely to remain an active part of the mortgage servicing industry…”

Barclays believes there is both an economic argument and a policy argument for reducing GSE guaranty fees…

Stearns Lending was the top table funder in 3Q15 with $2.95 billion originated through loan brokers. United Wholesale Mortgage was an extremely close second at $2.94 billion.

Despite changes to GSE to representations-and-warranties policies, lenders are still avoiding the riskiest segments of the market.

LoanStar expects to originate $750 million of home mortgages this year and has set a goal of doubling that in 2016…

Unless mortgage-banking income takes another steep downturn in the fourth quarter, 2015 will likely prove more profitable than 2014 by a slim margin.

Bank of America grew its MBS holdings by a stunning 22.7 percent in the third quarter, according to Inside MBS & ABS.