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Inside Mortgage Trends

August 14, 2015

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Servicing Rebounded From Rough First Quarter, But Production Margins Fell

Mortgage bankers saw improved profitability in both servicing and loan production during the second quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of earnings reports from major lenders. A group of 13 publicly traded companies reported a combined $2.10 billion of production-related income during the second quarter. That was up 9.9 percent from the previous period, and raised their combined production earnings for the first half of the year to $4.01 billion, a 54.7 percent increase over the same period in 2014. Although all 13 reported positive earnings on their origination and sales activity, many noted...[Includes one data table] Read More

Will Nonbanks Follow loanDepot Into Seconds?

loanDepot, LLC, made a big splash in the market this week, becoming the first nonbank lender to begin making ‘A’ paper second liens since the housing bust. The Irvine, CA-based lender fully expects it may soon have competition, but believes by being the first in, it will have a leg up on whichever players enter the fold. However, a quick call to a handful of nonbanks turned up... Read More

Mixed Performance from Nonbanks in 2Q15

Nonbanks couldn’t keep pace with prominent banks in terms of mortgage earnings in the second quarter of 2015, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. A group of eight nonbanks had lower mortgage-related income in the second quarter of 2015 compared with the previous quarter, with large losses tied to servicing operations. PHH Mortgage was the main restraint on the group of nonbanks as the firm reported a $43.0 million loss from mortgage services in the second quarter of 2015 after $38.0 million in income the previous quarter. The loss for PHH included a $66.0 million loss in the servicing segment. The nonbank increased...[Includes one data table] Read More

eClosing Pilot Reveals Limits of Tech, Speed Bumps

Emerging eClosing technology may make borrowers a little smarter, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but it isn’t easy for lenders to implement. A CFPB report on the agency’s eClosing project found that borrowers who participated in the pilot scored slightly higher in a quiz on the closing process than did those who relied on good-old paper. The eClosers were... Read More

Appraisal Reforms Seen as Having a Mixed Impact

Appraisal independence requirements adopted by the government-sponsored enterprises helped reduce the probability of inflated appraisals and made it more difficult to obtain mortgages, according to new research by staff at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Lei Ding, a community development economic advisor at the Philadelphia Fed, and Leonard Nakamura, a vice president and economist, detailed their findings in a paper published at the end of July. The government-sponsored enterprises adopted... Read More

How Much Is Student Debt Hurting the Market?

Student loan debt is no joke in America – and mortgage bankers, in particular, know all about it, especially since it’s being singled out as the chief reason why some borrowers can’t afford to buy their first home. Each year, a new group of college graduates has to start figuring out how to pay off their student loans. There’s even a website dedicated to showing the national student debt in real time – roughly $1.2 trillion as Inside Mortgage Trends went to press – along with credit card debt and auto loans. Currently, 15 percent of mortgagors have... Read More

Study: Mortgage Finance Ripe for Disruption

A new research paper analyzing the risks and opportunities for disruption in the housing finance system notes that new business models and services make the entire mortgage industry ripe for change. Although the paper by the Collingwood Group notes that disruption is inevitable in any industry, it said it is most predictable in an industry faced with conditions where the current model is too challenging, inefficient, costly and unresponsive to customer and business needs. “With no fundamental changes to origination processes in decades, lost efficiency, growing regulatory hurdles, high costs and low profits, there is... Read More

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