The Senate Committee on Appropriations last week unanimously approved legislation setting aside $40.2 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development for fiscal 2018. The Senate HUD appropriations bill passed by a vote of 31-0 and, like the House version, did not include authority for HUD to charge a fee to cover FHA’s administrative costs and systems upgrades as proposed in the Trump administration’s budget request. Rather, both bills set aside $130 million for administrative expenses with the House adding another $5 million for technological improvements. In addition, the committee recommended...

Bank of America reported $230.0 million in combined second-quarter mortgage-banking income, a hefty 88.5 percent increase from the previous period.

Watt noted that, “Some lenders are finally showing more willingness to extend credit to borrowers who meet the broader credit criteria reflected in the enterprises’ credit boxes…”

Ocwen originated $699.6 million in the second quarter, with a near doubling of retail originations unable to fully offset the wind-down in correspondent production…

The maneuver was uncommon and prompted speculation that other trustees might take similar actions.

The company has been trying to restructure its operations under CEO Anthony Renzi, who joined the firm last year.

Cowen & Co. analyst Jaret Seiberg believes the Senate Banking Committee remains on track to unveil GSE reform legislation late in the fourth quarter...

In past SEC filings Radian hinted that a write-down tied to its 2014 $305 million purchase of Clayton might be in order, but the company never pulled the trigger.

A telling sign: Bank of America employed 6,603 servicing employees as of the end of 2016, down 78.0 percent compared to the end of 2013.

The biggest surge was in non-agency securitization of mortgages on hotels and other lodging properties, which jumped 88.7 percent from the first quarter.