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Inside Mortgage Trends

December 20, 2013

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Banks Nudge MSR Valuations Slightly Higher in 3Q13; Portfolio Shrinks

Despite an increase in primary market mortgage rates during the third quarter of 2013, banks and thrifts were cautious in raising the valuations they placed on their mortgage servicing rights, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data. Banks and thrifts serviced $4.770 trillion in mortgages for the benefit of other investors, typically as a result of securitization. As an industry, they assigned a fair-market value of $48.4 billion for these assets ... [Includes one data chart] Read More

Old Business Still Drives GSE Buybacks

Although the plague of mortgage buybacks generally grew less severe during the third quarter of 2013, a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of repurchase disclosures by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shows that the industry continues to grapple with legacy years leading up to the housing market collapse. At the end of the third quarter, loans securitized by the two government-sponsored enterprises in 2007 accounted for 36.9 percent of pending and disputed buyback demands. Loans securitized ... [Includes two data charts] Read More

G-Fee Increase to Have a Mixed Impact on Lenders

Increases to the guaranty fees charged by the government-sponsored enterprises could prompt some changes for lenders. While execution with the GSEs will remain more attractive than issuing non-agency mortgage-backed securities, new loan-level pricing adjustments could shift some business to portfolio and to the FHA. The Federal Housing Finance Agency last week announced changes to GSE MBS g-fees that will amount to an average increase of approximately 11 basis points, to be implemented in March and April ... Read More

Tech Reps Applaud Uniform Closing Dataset

The government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are stepping up their development of a standardized dataset to support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recently finalized consolidated closure disclosure forms – a project that could represent a tipping point in the mortgage industry’s use of electronic mortgages, technology vendor representatives say. The GSEs’ common industry dataset that supports the CFPB’s form is called the Uniform Closing Dataset, and is one component of ... Read More

Market Share Likely to Return to Large Lenders

The trend of deconsolidation among mortgage lenders is likely to reverse due to the advantages of large lenders, according to projections from Fannie Mae. “The recent decline in large-lender share of the primary market is temporary, and principally a result of cyclical factors that caused larger lenders to pull back from the market,” said Gerry Flood, director of strategic planning in Fannie’s economic and strategic research division. Flood cautioned that the projections don’t take ... Read More

Mortgage Employment Looks Dicey in 2014

With residential originations expected to fall by 25 percent next year, some mortgage executives are predicting grim news in terms of new hiring, especially in any field tied to loan production. But as always, there are always a few “silver linings” in any downdraft, mortgage banking being no exception to the rule. A handful of firms say they are still aggressively recruiting residential loan officers who have a solid background in purchase-money lending – that is, sales professionals with deep ties to ... Read More

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