Cart

Inside Mortgage Trends

August 1, 2008

View Archived Issues

Mortgage Banking Profits Sunk in 2Q08 by Handful of Large Firms

Although most top lenders managed to earn net profits from their mortgage banking businesses during the second quarter, the overall industry saw a severe downturn from an already weak start in 2008. A group of 25 large lenders posted a combined loss of $1.301 billion from their mortgage banking operations during... [contains one chart] Read More

Study Finds MBS Coupons Best Hedge for MSRs

A new study by Barclay’s Capital has found that mortgages are a far better hedge for mortgage servicing rights than interest-rate derivatives. Analysts also concluded that most models used to determine the duration of a hedge are inaccurate. Choosing the best hedge is as complex an undertaking as landing a man on Mars... Read More

Another Nonconforming Lender Hits the Dust, Mutual of Omaha Picks Up the Pieces

This is not your father’s Wild Kingdom. On the heels of an expensive takeover of Alternative A market leader IndyMac, federal banking regulators this week picked up the pieces of First National Bank of Nevada, another bank that rode the nonconforming rocket on the way up and landed hard. FNB Nevada and its affiliate... Read More

New Housing Bill Presents Some Limited Opportunities

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was signed into law on Wednesday, although many of its major provisions will take months to implement. The one that promises the most in new lending is a controversial program, dubbed HOPE for Homeowners, that will use FHA mortgage insurance to help underwater borrowers refinance to a new... Read More

Lenders Try to Avoid Foreclosure as Means to Boost Profitability

Mortgage executives tried to set the record straight during a recent House hearing that revealed considerable skepticism among lawmakers about the industry’s commitment to working with borrowers to restructure troubled mortgages. “While the industry repeatedly says that nobody wins in a foreclosure, there is some evidence that... Read More

SEC Advisory Committee Says Filings Should Benefit Investors

The rules for financial disclosures filed by public companies ought to take more stock of investor interests, according to a final report released this week by the Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting. The report calls for several measures that would standardize and alter the focus... Read More

FASB Delays New Securitization Accounting Rule, But Wants Disclosure Anyway

Mortgage lenders caught a break this week when the Financial Accounting Standards Board decided to postpone for one year a controversial change in accounting rules for mortgage securitization.But the accounting group will go ahead with a separate FASB staff position paper that will require companies to make the... Read More

Latest Imf News

More Imf News

Featured Data

More Featured Data

Featured Reports

More Latest Reports

Featured Poll

As homeowner equity continues to build, more and more lenders are launching home equity lending products. Are you thinking of joining this market?

View Results