Harassment complaints filed against Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt took center stage during a House Financial Services Committee hearing late this week in which his accuser testified that the agency, along with its inspector general, treated her unfairly. Simone Grimes began her career at the FHFA in 2010 and became a special advisor in 2015. She complained that she was not given the same benefits as her predecessor in this temporary role and was advised that Watt would ...

“I think everyone is on board,” said Colgate Selden, a former CFPB attorney and now managing director and head of regulation and compliance at Promontory MortgagePath.

If Ocwen reenters the servicing market as a buyer it will be doing so at a time when MSR prices are the highest they’ve been all decade...

Lawmakers who scheduled a hearing about a month ago to discuss oversight of the Federal Housing Finance Agency instead found themselves questioning FHFA Director Mel Watt about sexual harassment claims by one of his employees. During the day-long House Financial Services Committee hearing, which included his accuser Simone Grimes, FHFA Inspector General Laura Wertheimer, and the GSE CEOs, Watt fought back against the allegations. He painted his relationship with Grimes as a mentor/mentee-type interaction and questioned the committee’s decision to even allow Grimes to use that forum when she has a lawsuit pending. But Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, who admitted to having a close friendship with Watt, said, “It’s a new...

State-licensed mortgage lenders originated $239.70 billion of home mortgages in the second quarter of this year, according to nonbank mortgage call report figures compiled by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System. The sector posted an 18.9 percent increase in origination volume from the first three months of the year, slightly more than the 17.1 percent rise in total first-lien originations over that period. As a result, the nonbank share of new production ... [Includes two data charts]

However, bankers and advisors who ply their trade in the MSR market have told Inside Mortgage Finance there is adequate financing available to nonbanks.

To date, Watt has maintained that he did not do anything legally wrong...

Rumors were floating around this week that a large non-QM securitization deal could be in the works...

With the deadline for implementing the revised integrated mortgage disclosure rule only a few days away, compliance experts said the industry is ready despite some remaining uncertainty.

If current trends hold in the official barometer used for adjusting conforming loan limits, look for the baseline limit to go up about 8 percent next year.