Cart

Inside Mortgage Trends

April 24, 2015

View Archived Issues

Banks Report Solid Gains in Mortgage Banking Income, Uniform Profitability

Mortgage banking appeared to become somewhat more profitable during the first quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of earnings reports filed by a diverse group of 19 publicly-traded companies. The group – all but one of them banks – reported a total of $3.496 billion in mortgage banking income during the first quarter. That was up 10.2 percent from the end of last year. It also represented a 23.0 percent increase over the first quarter of 2014, one of the ... Read More

Is PHH a $50 Stock Disguised as a $25 Stock?

PHH Corp., the largest publicly traded nonbank mortgage originator in the nation, is a company that has perplexed investors and analysts for years. In business for decades, it survived the subprime crisis by never originating a “B” or “C” loan. It stuck to its knitting as the largest private-label funder and servicer in America. In 2007, it was almost bought by Countrywide Financial Corp., a sale which would have been disastrous for management and employees, given what happened to CFC ... Read More

Lenders Cautious on High LTV Product Changes

Most lenders already doing business with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac expect to offer the new low-downpayment options available from the government-sponsored enterprises, though few expect to see much pickup in their originations. A new Fannie survey found 81 percent of lenders intend to offer the 97 percent loan-to-value ratio mortgage sometime this year. About 8 percent said they’re not interested and the rest weren’t sure. But of those planning to offer the product, only ... Read More

Foreclosed Borrowers May Recover, Won’t Return

The majority of the 9.3 million borrowers who lost their homes between 2006 and 2014 will likely become eligible to re-enter the home purchase market within the next nine years, according to an analysis by the National Association of Realtors. However, only about a quarter of them are expected to actually return to the market. “The extended time needed to repair credit scores or save for a downpayment, combined with other overlapping post-distress factors on credit quality, such as ... Read More

Government Mortgage Stimulus a Wash

Recent actions by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government-sponsored enterprises and FHA to make it easier for borrowers to get a mortgage are probably going to be an inconsequential wash overall, according to a panel of industry representatives and policy experts. However, there was some optimism expressed as well. Commenting on last week’s changes from the FHFA on GSE guaranty fees and loan-level price adjustments, Ron Haynie, senior vice president of ... Read More

TPO Volume Lags Overall Market Growth

Mortgage lenders sold a total of $121.87 billion of loans that were originated by mortgage brokers and correspondents to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae during the first quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of loan-level mortgage-backed securities disclosures by the agencies. Third-party originated volume was up just 1.7 percent from the fourth quarter, while total issuance of agency MBS rose slightly more, by 3.7 percent ... [Includes one data chart] Read More

BofA: Retail Key to Servicing Customers

D. Steve Boland, Bank of America’s home loans originations executive, says retail mortgage lending is the perfect way to connect with the bank’s customers. In an interview for a special report published by Inside Mortgage Finance Publications, Boland noted that BofA serves one out of every two banking customers in the country. “We have a tremendous footprint and franchise, from our financial centers to the mortgage loan officers and all of the other associates that serve our customers,” he said ... Read More

Regulators Address Mortgage Capital Issues

Federal regulators issued a document this month clarifying Basel III capital requirements that apply to banks. Among other issues, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency addressed the treatment of certain loan modifications and FHA loans. The capital rules took effect Jan. 1 for most banks, with a phase-in period for many aspects of the rules. The federal regulators said that when a mortgage isn’t in default and ... 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