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Inside Mortgage Trends

August 11, 2017

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2Q17 a Rocky Road for Publicly Traded Nonbanks; Several Firms on the Ropes

The second quarter of 2017 was not easy for publicly held nonbank mortgage lenders and servicers, but the beleaguered sector fared better than it did a year ago. A new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of second-quarter earnings reports found the eight companies in the roundup managed to generate just $24.37 million in mortgage-banking income. That was down 80.1 percent from the group’s first-quarter earnings. One public nonbank, Stonegate Mortgage ... [Includes one data chart] Read More

GSE Lenders Reach for Refi Business in 2Q17

Mortgage lenders that sell loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac opened the credit box slightly for refinance borrowers during the second quarter, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of mortgage-backed securities data. Some 24.8 percent of refinance loans securitized by the two government-sponsored enterprises during the second quarter had credit scores below 700. That was up from 22.6 percent in the previous period and just ... [Includes two data charts] Read More

Mortgage Hiring Spree Tapering Off

The third quarter of any given year is usually among the strongest in terms of residential loan originations, but new employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that many mortgage lenders are being careful about hiring these days. Loan brokers on the other hand appear to a bit more liberal. But interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Trends over the past week suggest that plenty of nonbanks are continuing to search for help, especially firms that ... Read More

Low-Downpayment Lending Continues to Expand

Low-downpayment lending is the highest it’s been in almost seven years as the purchase market keeps growing, according to new data from Black Knight Financial Services. “Over the past 12 months, approximately 1.5 million borrowers have purchased homes using less than 10-percent downpayments,” according to Ben Graboske, executive vice president of Black Knight Data & Analytics. “The increase is primarily a function of the overall growth in purchase lending ... Read More

Bank Lays Off Mortgage Staff as Refis Decline

Provident Savings Bank, headquartered in California, recently laid off staff in its mortgage unit due to a decline in refinance volume. “During the past six months, we’ve reduced capacity to more closely align to the current opportunities in the market, which reflect an uptick in purchase-money activity, but a significant decline in refinance activity,” said Craig Blunden, chairman and CEO of Provident Financial Holdings, the holding company of the bank. He said the lender reduced its ... Read More

Borrower Satisfaction Key in Servicing Transfers

Companies looking to acquire servicing via bulk transfers need to be mindful of how the transaction will impact borrowers, according to analysts at Strategic Mortgage Finance Group. Officials at Stratmor warned that a poorly executed transfer can significantly reduce servicing value as dissatisfied borrowers are unlikely to refinance with the lender/servicer. Michael Grad, a senior partner at the firm, said a servicing operation that maintains a strong borrower relationship and ... Read More

USMI Seeks One QM Rule for All

The private mortgage insurance industry is calling for a level playing field between the government-sponsored enterprises and FHA and VA as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau begins its assessment of the ability-to-repay rule. In comments to the CFPB, U.S. Mortgage Insurers urged the bureau to determine whether potential arbitrage in QM standards for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and those for FHA and VA have had any negative effect on consumers ... Read More

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