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Inside Mortgage Trends

April 17, 2009

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After Years of Building Reserves, Lender MI Captives Tapped for Losses in 2008

Private mortgage insurers steered billions in insurance premiums to captive reinsurance entities owned by their biggest mortgage banking customers over the years, but 2008 saw a huge reversal as default rates and new claims soared. According to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Profitability, private MIs ceded a whopping $5.381 billion of premiums to lender... [Includes one chart and one graph] Read More

Now May Be a Good Time to Invest in Technology

Most mortgage lenders have gone through painful “rightsizing” of their production channels and scurried to bolster servicing operations over the past year, but experts say the rapid changes in the industry also mean this is a good time to deploy new technology.Officials from Graystone Solutions, a subservicer, and Fifth Third Mortgage, a top 20 mortgage originator, offered... Read More

Genworth Financial Suffers a TARP Setback

Genworth Financial won’t be accessing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, but officials say the company’s private mortgage insurance business may still be able to tap into TARP for additional capital.“Genworth Financial was informed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that the deadline it set for approval by the Office of Thrift Supervision of Genworth’s application to become... Read More

‘Required Use’ Creates Liability for Lenders

The new definition of “required use” under final Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act regulations could subject loan originators and unaffiliated settlement service providers to liability under RESPA’s anti-kickback provision if the price for that service is discounted, mortgage lenders warned. In separate letters commenting on the Obama administration’s proposal to withdraw the... Read More

Colonial Banc Receives $300 Million Investment

Colonial BancGroup just received a substantial investment from Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, but it may not be enough to save the faltering bank. With a lot of key operations in Florida, a state hit hard by the housing crisis, Colonial received a preliminary approval in December to receive funds under the Treasury Department’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. In order to receive the TARP money... Read More

PHH Board Fights Nomination of Parseghian

A power struggle has emerged at the board of directors of PHH Corp., the parent of PHH Mortgage, as a hedge fund is pushing the election of former Freddie Mac Chairman Gregory Parseghian as one of two rival nominees to the board to supplant the current leadership when the company’s annual stockholder meeting is held in June. Last week, the PHH board sent an open letter to stockholders, strongly... Read More

New Patent Reform Bill May Hurt Small Companies

Mortgage lenders and other financial services businesses may have a harder time defending themselves against opportunistic companies that try to establish patents for lending technology and business processes under legislation pending in Congress. Critics say the Patent Reform Act of 2009 may have a detrimental effect on small manufacturers, venture capitalists and... Read More

Technology Briefs

Avista Solutions reported record growth in both new customers and overall... A new REO Asset Alliance formed earlier this month is designed to help... ISGN Corporation announced this month the release of its updated Customer... DocuTech and Commerce Velocity announced this week that they had integrated... OpenClose has announced the release of an end-to-end mortgage lending... Read More

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