The Federal Housing Finance Agency is expected to unveil final rules on Private Mortgage Insurer Eligibility Requirements (PMIERs) by the end of March, but there could be a surprise in the works. According to industry lobbyists and MI executives interviewed by Inside Mortgage Finance this week, the FHFA may publish the PMIER rules in tandem with new guidelines on loan-level price adjustments or LLPAs. “The MI industry is...

Falling interest rates and a pending cut in FHA insurance premiums are prompting many lenders to prepare for a boost in refinance activity. “Recent-period lows should stimulate strong refinance activity,” said Bard Blackwell, an executive vice president and portfolio business manager at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. He noted that low yields on 10-year Treasury notes have helped to decrease interest rates on mortgages in recent months. As of press time, the yield on 10-year Treasuries fell...

Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals, pointed to a flaw in the beta version of Rate Checker: it doesn't show the annual percentage rate.

Stan Kurland, PennyMac’s chairman and CEO, said the FHLB application for PMT Insurance has been on hold since it was submitted.

Ocwen’s lack of cooperation regarding documents led the agency’s commissioner to issue a subpoena “duces tecum,” which is essentially a court summons.

The positive performance, a drop of 14.5 percent, is most likely due to the continued recovery in the overall economy as well as the housing market.

One servicing advisor raised an interesting scenario Tuesday: Maybe Bill Erbey will swoop in and buy all of Ocwen’s shares and take the whole thing private.

Sources believe that Ocwen eventually will work out a settlement with the state.

Meanwhile, new revelations about regulatory problems in California are likely to make Ocwen’s disposal of servicing rights problematic.

The CFPB found that 70 percent of mortgage customers rely on their lender or broker to obtain loan pricing information.