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Inside Mortgage Finance

November 25, 2015

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Correspondent Production Up Slightly in 3Q15 As Retail and Broker Originations Tumble

The correspondent channel during the third quarter of 2015 took its biggest share of total mortgage originations in years, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. Mortgage lenders acquired $165 billion of home loans from correspondent originators during the third quarter, a 1.9 percent increase at a time when overall production fell 7.1 percent. The surge pushed the correspondent share of new originations to 36.3 percent ... [Includes four data charts] Read More

Cuts to G-Fees Possible in 2016 Due to Pricing Seen On Risk Sharing, Push for Expansion of Credit

A number of factors could prompt the Federal Housing Finance Agency to reduce the guaranty fees charged by the government-sponsored enterprises in 2016, according to Barclays Capital analysts. “There is an economic argument as well as a policy argument to be made for reducing g-fees, especially given a greater focus on credit availability and less focus on shrinking the GSEs’ footprint,” Barclays said in a recent report. “A g-fee cut could be one of the policy developments ... Read More

Stonegate Unloads a Large Chunk of Its Retail Network, Vows to Go Heavy on ‘TPO’ Lending

Stonegate Mortgage – which holds the distinction of being the last nonbank mortgage firm to go public – is in the process of disposing of a large swath of its retail branch network in favor of a third-party originator strategy that relies heavily on brokers and correspondents. In total, it expects to close 47 branches outright by yearend or allow the offices to be taken over by a competitor. Although the company declined to discuss its strategy, recent press statements indicate it will maintain Read More

Mortgage Delinquencies Drop Across the Board to Lowest Levels in Years, Latest Industry Data Show

Delinquency rates for residential mortgages fell during the third quarter of the year across all product types and improved at the 30-day, 60-day and 90-day past-due markers, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest national delinquency survey. The delinquency rate for residential mortgages dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.99 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the third quarter of 2015 – the lowest level since the first quarter of 2007, said the MBA ... Read More

Senator Questions FHFA on Freddie Mac Miss on Low-Income Home-Purchase Goals

Freddie Mac failed to meet all of its goals aimed at lending to low-income homebuyers in 2014, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s preliminary annual housing report, and Rep. Bob Menendez, D-NJ, ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, wants to know why those particular home-purchase goals went unmet. The FHFA sets annual affordability goals for the two government-sponsored ... Read More

Trade Groups Seek Action from Federal Regulators On Homeowners’ Association ‘Super-Priority’ Liens

Trade groups representing participants in the primary mortgage market and the non-agency mortgage-backed security market are calling on federal banking regulators to address state laws that allow for “super-priority” status for homeowners’ association liens. Risks from HOA super-priority liens have been of particular concern following a September 2014 ruling by the Nevada Supreme Court. The court allowed for a homeowners’ association foreclosure sale to ... Read More

Panelists Find Mortgage Industry in a Better Place Since the Crisis, But New Rules Impose New Demands

Seven years after the financial crisis that nearly devastated the U.S. economy, the mortgage finance industry finds itself in a far better place than before the crisis but facing new challenges brought on by a tighter credit box and new regulations, according to panelists at a housing symposium late last week in Washington, DC. Hosted by the Urban Institute and CoreLogic, the forum assessed the progress of the mortgage financing industry since the financial crisis abated ... Read More

No Change in Baseline Conforming-Loan Limit

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that the baseline conforming-loan limit will remain at $417,000 in 2016. As of the third quarter of 2015, the house-price index used to make adjustments in the conforming-loan limit still had not caught up to the level set back in the third quarter of 2007. However, high-cost loan limits will go up in 39 counties next year, the FHFA said. Read More

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