Cart

Inside Mortgage Trends

December 30, 2014

View Archived Issues

GSE Repurchase Activity Still Weighed Down by the Past; More Focus on 2013

The lion’s share of mortgage repurchase activity involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the third quarter of 2014 continued to involve loans securitized before the two government-sponsored enterprises were put in conservatorship back in 2008, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. At the same time, however, the 2013 book of business is getting a lot more attention at the two GSEs. Although Fannie and Freddie wrapped up their reviews of ... [Includes two data charts] Read More

More Firms Angle for Whole-Loan Trading

Investment banking firm FIG Partners, based in Atlanta, recently inaugurated a new whole-loan trading capability for small to mid-tier community and regional banks. The firm will now buy or sell performing and non-performing residential mortgages as well as commercial real estate, consumer and other types of loans for its bank and investor clients. Company officials say their new whole-loan trading capabilities complement the firm’s securities trading operations. The new platform ... Read More

Plenty of Buyers, Not So Many Sellers

With mortgage originations expected to be relatively flat in the new year, one might think it would be a buyer’s market for mortgage companies. But not so, according to investment bankers interviewed by Inside Mortgage Trends. “There are far more buyers than sellers at this point in time,” said Larry Charbonneau, a principal in Charbonneau & Associates. Attending a recent trade show catering to independent mortgage banking firms, Charbonneau said he was approached by ... Read More

Lenders Project Stability Heading Into 2015

Profit margins and a number of other mortgage banking metrics will continue to be stable in the first quarter of 2015, according to a Fannie Mae survey of senior executives at 192 lenders. “The share of lenders reporting a decreased profit margin outlook over the next three months appears to have remained relatively stable at around 30 percent since the second quarter,” Fannie said of the fourth-quarter survey results. Compliance costs, declining demand from borrowers and ... Read More

Loan Officers in Demand in 2015

Mortgage hiring should be somewhat brisk in 2015 as lenders of different sizes plan to expand their sales forces. Prospects are especially positive for mortgage professionals in California, New England, and the Southeast, according to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Trends. Quicken Loans, the nation’s largest nonbank originator, hopes to hire approximately 500 new employees in the coming year, including loan officers and underwriters, said company spokesman Chris Smith ... Read More

Ocwen Shifts Focus Post-Settlement

After agreeing to a $150 million settlement with the New York Department of Financial Services, Ocwen Financial said the company will shift its business strategy away from owning mortgage servicing rights for agency mortgages. In a call with investors in late December, Ronald Faris, Ocwen’s president and CEO, said the nonbank is positioned for “disciplined growth” in the future. “We continue to believe that we have attractive opportunities for earnings growth,” he said. In the past three years ... Read More

‘Portable’ Mortgage Touted as Equity Builder

Offering “portable” mortgages could increase the potential for homeownership by eliminating the “resetting of the clock” that occurs every time a borrower moves, according to Jeffrey Lubell, director of housing and community initiatives at Abt Associates. A portable mortgage allows a borrower to keep his or her mortgage even if he moves to a different property, helping to build equity. The loans are available in Canada and Europe but haven’t caught on in the U.S. “Few policies would ... Read More

Loan Doc Fraud Most Reported in 2013

Most of the mortgage fraud investigations in 2013 that involved industry professionals were about misrepresentations on loan documents, evidence that the market remains fertile for fraud, according to a new LexisNexis report. Focusing on proven incidences of fraud, the report found that the share of loans investigated in 2013 for misrepresentation on the credit report, credit history or references rose to 17 percent from 5 percent in 2012. Notably, property valuation fraud ... Read More

Bank Mortgage Sales Spiked in 3Q14

Commercial banks and thrifts sold some $175.6 billion of home mortgages during the third quarter of 2014, a healthy 25.4 percent increase from the prior quarter, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data. Despite the bump in loan sales and mortgage originations, the banking industry reported a modest 4.9 percent drop in mortgage-banking income during the third quarter. And there was relatively little left in the tank as the market ... [Includes one data chart] 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