The average daily trading volume for agency MBS fell to a yearly low of $149.2 billion in December, as trading desks from coast to coast continued to assess how to make money in what’s become a business of tight profit margins. Late this week, Barclays Bank unveiled a massive restructuring of its MBS and whole-loan trading business, cutting the number of employees in the division – including traders – down to 50 from roughly 100. As a structural matter, the bank is moving...
With residential production falling by as much as 20 percent in the fourth quarter, a handful of lenders recently have either pulled out of the retail market entirely or pared back their traditional branch networks. Included in the club of retail quitters are such firms as Ditech Financial – ranked 13th overall in fundings – and Stonegate Mortgage, which began its pullback in November. Also heading for the retail exit is BankUnited, Miami Lakes, FL. All three are...
For some servicers, including Ocwen Financial, the math of outsourcing is simple: pay back-office workers the equivalent of $2 an hour when their U.S. counterparts can earn at least five times that.
Where Realtors were once the first source of information for homebuyers, increasingly independent mortgage lenders are attempting to provide leads on homes for sale and more...