Originations are booming but the government’s latest reading on mortgage employment wasn’t exactly encouraging. Still, interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Trends reveal that many shops are looking to hire.
TD Bank was the top volume gainer among residential lenders in the second quarter but barely made the top 50 volume ranking in the first half of the year. Moral of story: the bigger you are, the harder it is to post huge percentage gains.
Expiration of the GSE “patch” will shift more risk to private securities and away from Fannie and Freddie. But, according to CoreLogic, dismantling the loophole will impact millennial borrowers and retirees.
A borrower’s liquidity situation seems to be a better indicator of potential default than LTV or DTI ratios, according to the JPMorgan Chase Institute. The institute suggests that the use of emergency mortgage reserve accounts could help alter the DTI ratio standards for qualified mortgages.
Originations are strong in many markets but hiring by mortgage banking firms is not particularly robust. Meanwhile, some executives wonder privately whether the rate rally is getting long in the tooth.
Falling interest rates are sometimes a bad thing — case in point is Mr. Cooper and negative MSR marks. Also, it’s been somewhat quiet on the M&A front but perhaps a change is in the wind.
Some industry participants are questioning the accuracy of the MBA’s refinance application index, suggesting that Google search trends are a better gauge.
Interest rates are falling, refis are increasing and optimism abounds among many mortgage professionals. However, hiring has not been robust this spring but all that may soon change.
Ditech is once again operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But its problems, like a top subservicing client wanting out, are accelerating. Can the firm's advisors sell the shop before it's too late?