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Inside Mortgage Trends

June 29, 2012

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Fannie and Freddie Buybacks Still Heavily Focused on Older Loan Sales

Well over half of the mortgage repurchase activity reported by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the first quarter of 2012 was still pending or being disputed by lenders, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of disclosures made by the two government-sponsored enterprises. Mortgage lenders repurchased a total of $2.37 billion of loans because of representation and warranty problems during the first three months of the year, the GSE disclosures indicate. The repurchase amount represents the principal balance of the loans resolved through a repurchase, although...(Includes two data charts) Read More

Mortgage Banking Profits Up Sharply in 2012

Mortgage banking profits on loan origination soared in early 2012, while servicing operations edged into profitability, according to the latest average performance data reported this week by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The average firm participating in the MBA survey reported $2.027 million in net income after adjustments during the first quarter. That was up 68.9 percent from the fourth quarter and more than four times the average profit earned... Read More

Disparate Impact Theory May Be on the Ropes

The disparate impact theory of racial discrimination and the question of whether such claims can be brought under the Fair Housing Act have once again been brought to the doorstep of the Supreme Court of the United States. The case pits Mount Holly, NJ, against a citizens group that says the town’s redevelopment plan for their neighborhood would have a disparate impact on the mostly minority population of the area. The town prevailed in state court and in federal district court, but the Third Circuit appeals court ruled... Read More

Chicago Bank Expands Retail Mortgage Business

For Chicago’s Cole Taylor Bank, what a difference a year makes. Last week, Taylor Capital Group, the $4.7 billion holding company of Cole Taylor Bank, announced a major expansion of the bank’s retail mortgage unit with the hiring of 60 loan officers. The expansion will nearly double the number of Cole Taylor Mortgage retail origination offices and represents... Read More

Counseling Helps Homeowners Make Wiser Choices

Homeowners who received foreclosure counseling through the federally funded National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program obtained loan modifications that resulted in significantly lower monthly mortgage payments than they would have received without counseling, according to NeighborWorks America. The program has helped reduce borrowers’ monthly payments on their homes by an average of $2,100 in annual savings for each counseled homeowner. This represented more than $372 million in annual savings to homeowners who received... Read More

Lenders Learn How to Survive a CFPB Audit

In the era of new consumer protection laws and the emergence of the Consumer Financial Protection Board, many community banks and independent mortgage lenders find themselves stuck in a morass of confusing regulations and guidance, concerned whether they can pass a tough CFPB audit. While these financial institutions have been through regulatory audits before, they have not been confronted by a government audit the size and scope of a CFPB compliance examination. The biggest concerns are whether their compliance process is up to CFPB standards, whether compliance is properly and adequately documented, and whether... Read More

Lawmakers Eyeball Appraisal Cost, Oversight

Members of Congress from both sides of the political divide remain concerned about the cost of real estate appraisals and consumer access to the people who perform them, as well as the overall effectiveness of the regulatory regime that oversees it all. “I believe that the appraisal process is absolutely essential and so important to the mortgage process because we know a sound regulatory structure in which the industry can operate and serve the consumer is of prime importance,” said Rep. Shelly Moore Capito, R-WV, during a hearing this week of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity. Capito is questioning whether the Appraisal Subcommittee of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council can... Read More

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