Mortgage loan officers should take one last look at their loved ones because if the 30-year fixed-rate vanilla mortgage falls below 3.0% they’ll be living at the office as new customers pour through the door (or Internet) like a zombie apocalypse…

While traditional non-agency jumbo lending lagged the overall market, the conforming-jumbo business was cracking. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae securitized $51.15 billion of single-family loans above last year’s $484,350 limit for one-unit properties.

But there’s also a dark side to the rate plunge: The servicing side of the mortgage business is looking at mark-to-market bloodbaths that could be the norm if rates don’t snap back by the end of the current quarter.

According to Anthony Hsieh, founder and CEO of top-10 lender loanDepot, the mortgage industry might want to ponder creating a “reservation” system for incoming applicants.

Nearly 12% of loans were underwritten using only one month of bank statements as the main source of income verification.

Wells Fargo: “Like everyone, we are seeing an increase in mortgage application volume driven by lower rates. In order to help provide the best possible service to our customers, we continue to hire underwriters, processors and closers..."

“Mortgage originators are looking at record earnings for the first quarter,” said Chuck Klein, managing director of Mortgage Banking Solutions, Austin, TX, a consulting firm engaged in warehouse reviews and M&A activity.

Justice Kavanaugh stuck mostly to his already-established views: The for-cause removal provision is unconstitutional, and should be severed from the statute. Many of Kavanaugh’s questions centered on the severability of the provision.

Suddenly, lenders are talking about capacity issues...

According to IMF's 4Q19 ranking, JPMorgan Chase was the commitment volume leader with an estimated $19.0 billion of approved lines to nonbanks…