The CFPB case likely won’t make Merrill Lynch feel good about PHH, but we could be wrong. The two go way back…

Refinance lending fueled the growth in mortgage originations during the first quarter of 2015, although new data suggest that the purchase-mortgage sector is taking hold. Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $221.0 billion of refi loans during the first quarter, an increase of 51.4 percent from a revised fourth-quarter production estimate of $146.0 billion. Inside Mortgage Finance refi and purchase-mortgage estimates for all four quarters of 2014 were revised to reflect just first-lien mortgage originations. Refi loans accounted...[Includes three data tables]

Meanwhile, the pipeline of issuer applications has dropped dramatically at Ginnie Mae...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is working on a new proposed rule to ease the backlog in FHA insurance claims filings as well as to revise the department’s “curtailment of interest” policy to relieve the burden on mortgagees. The FHA expects to finalize the proposed rule in August this year, according to HUD’s new regulatory agenda, although the agency rarely comes even close to its projected rulemaking timelines. Specifically, the proposed rule would establish...

The average closing time for a VA mortgage was 41 days, a reading taken in as of March of this year. A year ago it was 39 days.

California, Virginia, Texas, Florida and Washington, in sequential order, retained their VA securitization ranking from 2014.

The FHA loans were originated through the bank’s mortgage subsidiary, First Horizon Home Loans, which was sold to MetLife Bank in August 2008.

By signing the addendum, the borrower certifies that he or she will make payments on the mortgage or become indebted to the federal government...

Most of the changes are in the portion earmarked for direct endorsement lenders, which often have been the target of False Claims Act lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice...

An FHA proposal aimed at clarifying loan-certification rules is a step in the right direction but it needs more work, according to industry observers. Lenders declined to comment on the proposed form changes but they all agree that the proposal does not go far enough. The revisions aim to make the language in Form 92900-A (HUD Addendum to Uniform Residential Loan Application) clearer for both borrower and lender. Applicants for an FHA or a VA loan sign the addendum to certify to the government that the information provided by the borrower on the mortgage loan application is correct. By signing the addendum, the borrower certifies that he or she will make payments on the home loan or become indebted to the federal government upon failure to repay the loan. For lenders, signing the form certifies that the loan application meets all of FHA’s insurance requirements. This is where lenders often ...