With the topic of regulatory reform experiencing a resurgence of attention since the Trump administration moved into the White House, the U.S. mortgage insurance industry is calling for greater uniformity when it comes to the nitty gritty details of the ability-to-repay rule and its qualified-mortgage standard. One area of particular concern for mortgage insurers is the differences between the CFPB’s QM rule for conventional mortgages and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s QM rule for FHA-insured mortgages. These differences include different debt-to-income caps, different formulae to calculate points and fees, and different standards for higher-cost mortgages. According to U.S. Mortgage Insurers, these differences incentivize greater reliance on programs of the U.S. government, increasing risk to taxpayers. “While consistency and ...

Some 53.7 percent of newly originated mortgages delivered into agency mortgage-backed securities programs last year were generated through lenders’ retail production operations, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis. Correspondents accounted for the next largest share, 33.4 percent, of loans sold to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. The data exclude mortgages that were over six months old when they were securitized ... [Includes two data charts]

There have been scattered reports that some lenders and brokers are still chasing quick-turn refis aided by secondary market investors offering to buy and securitize those loans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is considering possible solutions, including new regulation or policy changes, to address the ongoing problem of aggressive refinancing of VA purchase loans. Certain lenders and mortgage brokers apparently are still soliciting VA purchase loans for streamline refinancing despite Ginnie Mae’s effort to stop the practice and help mortgage-securities investors get full return on their investments. Ginnie Mae issued...

With the enforcement of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act at stake, and a hostile occupant in the Oval Office, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is certainly not being bashful about continuing its regulation-by-enforcement modus operandi. The recent enforcement action against Prospect Mortgage is just the latest example. According to Colgate Selden, a partner in the Washington, DC, office of the law firm of Alston & Bird, the case is important because “it indicates the CFPB is moving full-speed ahead regardless” of the recent court rulings in PHH v. CFPB. This case is...

Among the top 10 originators in 2016, Reverse Mortgage Solutions posted the largest annual decline at 64.5 percent. RMS is owned by Walter Investment…

Although JPMorgan/Chase was the market leader, it is now mostly out of the sector…

Mortgage brokers earned their biggest market share in the Ginnie Mae sector…

MBA’s Pete Mills noted there are a handful of lenders and brokers that specialize in quick-turn refis…

Correspondent mortgage originators account for an unusually large share of FHA and VA lending, but the channel lost some market share in 2016, according to a new analysis by Inside FHA/VA Lending. Correspondent production accounted for 53.2 percent of the $275.14 billion of government-insured mortgages originated by a diverse group of lenders that included the top players in the market. That was a significantly bigger correspondent share than was seen in the conventional-conforming market (42.6 percent) or the jumbo space (16.2 percent). However, the 2016 figure was down from a 57.8 percent correspondent share of FHA/VA lending back in 2015, the first year for which data are available. Correspondent originations of government-insured lending by the group were up 31.1 percent from 2015, but their total FHA/VA lending jumped 42.3 percent. The retail share rose ... [ 1 chart ]