The Blackstone Group’s bid to acquire VA lender PMAC Mortgage, Chino Hills, CA, appears to have stalled. Talks between the two companies are now on hold and neither firm has commented. An industry source suggested that cash might not be the issue but a “clash of corporate cultures. PMAC Lending Services, which acquired Residential Financial Corp. last year, was ranked 61st on Inside FHA/VA Lending’s top 100 VA lenders in 2014. The company reported $328.2 million in total VA originations last year, reporting an 18.5 percent increase in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter and a 182.1 percent spike in loan volume year-over-year. It accounted for 0.3 percent of the VA market. Blackstone is a global investment firm with nearly $300 billion in assets under management. Last year, the company announced the hiring of 15,000 U.S. veterans across its portfolio companies in ...

Although the FHA has been losing ground for several years to the private MIs, the program saw a surge in refis in March...

It’s no secret that pricing on lender-paid mortgage insurance policies has come down over the past several months and now it appears the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may take a look at what’s going on behind the curtain. According to industry officials who claim to have knowledge of the situation, the powerful consumer regulator may focus on whether there is some kind of quid pro quo going on between lenders and mortgage insurers. In particular, the agency may look...

FHA volume in Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities rebounded in April because of the agency’s price cut in late January and improvements in the economy, according to industry participants. Recent data from the FHA show a sharp uptick in refinance business, which jumped from $2.29 billion in endorsements in February to $8.15 billion in March. Total FHA forward-mortgage business rose by 83.8 percent from February. The surge came...

In a recent 10-K filing Ocwen disclosed that on April 30, 2015 it announced agreements with the GSEs to sell portfolios of non-performing loan servicing rights.

Last fall, Ocwen tried to sell its Ginnie Mae servicing rights, but recently disclosed that it will keep the receivables instead...

Stevens also said that while he was FHA commissioner he chose not to go after lenders for violating the False Claims Act because he said such actions would have opened a “Pandora’s Box.”

VA originations by state-licensed lenders rose 14.5 percent from 2013 to 2014.

Interactive Mortgage Advisors, MIAC and The Prestwick Group are working on deals as well.

Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie all posted solid gains in volume during April, but Ginnie had the strongest increase with issuance rising more than 32 percent…