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Inside Mortgage Finance

August 11, 2016

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Mortgage Insurance Came Roaring Into Spring, Setting New Business Record in Booming Market

Lenders originated home loans that included primary mortgage insurance at a hectic pace during the second quarter of 2016, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. A whopping $196.23 billion of new mortgage originations carried private MI during the second quarter, including significant increases in both private MI and government-insured mortgage insurance. That was up 34.1 percent from the first three months of 2016, and represented the biggest quarterly total on record. Private MI posted...[Includes three data tables] Read More

A Handful of Investors Kicking the Tires at PHH Mortgage as M&A Activity Gains Momentum

A handful of investors, including Caliber Home Loans, are kicking the tires at PHH Corp., taking a close look at the company’s mortgage assets and platforms, investment banking sources told Inside Mortgage Finance this week. At this point in time, a sale of the company through a stock transaction is highly unlikely, but the disposal of some of its key assets – in particular, its $231.74 billion servicing portfolio – could finally materialize before yearend. It’s... Read More

Final Rule Mandates More Loss Mitigation Consideration for Troubled Borrowers, Protections for Successors in Interest

A final rule issued late last week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will add compliance burdens for mortgage servicers, according to industry participants. It includes new requirements for loss mitigation evaluations and standards for successors in interest to deceased borrowers. “The bureau believes that the majority of the provisions in this final rule would impose, at most, minimal new compliance burdens, and in many cases would reduce the compliance burden relative to the existing rules,” the CFPB said. Jonathan Kolodziej, an associate at the law firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, said... Read More

Nationstar Buying Servicing While Walter and Ocwen Take Losses and Sell Servicing Rights

Among three nonbank servicers that grew significantly after the financial crisis, Nationstar Mortgage has managed to continue to acquire mortgage servicing rights and subservicing while Walter Investment Management and Ocwen Financial have recently sold MSRs and taken huge losses. Officials at Nationstar said the nonbank is on track to board servicing with an unpaid principal balance of $130.0 billion between August and the end of the year. The new servicing includes acquisitions of MSRs and subservicing agreements. Nationstar handled a $369.0 billion servicing portfolio at June 30, down from $386.0 billion in servicing at the end of March. “I don’t think... Read More

FHFA Stress Test of Hypothetical Crisis Shows Fannie And Freddie Could Need as Much as a $125B Bailout

In the event of a severe economic crisis, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could need a bailout of up to $125.8 billion, according to a Federal Housing Finance Agency stress test released this week. The test of severely adverse scenarios, required by the Dodd-Frank Act for companies with total consolidated assets of more than $10 billion, took place in March and is based on Fannie and Freddie portfolios as of Dec. 31, 2015. The bailout would be needed on an incremental basis and would also depend on the treatment of the government-sponsored enterprises’ deferred tax assets. Under this hypothetical economic scenario, situations include... Read More

Large Nonbank Originator Launches ESOP Program, As Founder Gives More of the Firm to Its Employees

Fairway Independent Mortgage, Madison, WI, has been quietly giving control of the company away to a group of investors who are key to its growth: its own employees. The nation’s 22nd largest lender – as ranked by Inside Mortgage Finance – has been issuing stock to some of its senior executives since late last year, but recently rolled out an employee stock ownership plan to anyone, provided they work there for at least a year. For employees, the best part is... Read More

The Push for Housing Counseling to Expand, Evolve, Integrate and Attract Millennials

Homebuyer counseling classes should expand and evolve, according to some in the industry who said such programs are critical to promoting successful homeownership. And there have been a few changes this year that speak to the growing importance of borrower education. Studies show that borrowers participating in homebuyer counseling classes are more likely to sustain homeownership than those who haven’t been counseled. But a newly published paper from the Urban Institute said... Read More

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