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Inside Mortgage Finance

January 23, 2025

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Sharp Split in MI Volume Trends in Fourth Quarter

Agency refis with primary MI skyrocketed in the fourth quarter of 2024 while purchase-mortgage business declined somewhat. Lenders tightened underwriting standards on refis as volume flowed. (Includes three data tables.) Read More

Industry Guardedly Optimistic on Pulte’s Nomination

Bill Pulte, Trump’s choice to run the FHFA, is a scion of a homebuilding industry giant, but his background is mostly in private equity and philanthropy. Read More

Sharp Swings Expected on Federal Housing Policies

The Trump administration will likely take starkly different positions on housing and the mortgage market compared with the Biden administration. Expect changes at the GSEs, while a reduction to FHA mortgage insurance premiums looks unlikely. Read More

Cost of a Wholesale Unit: Just About Zero

It’s not every day that an expanded-credit specialist branches out into conventional funding. But that’s what A&D Mortgage is doing via its acquisition of Flagstar’s TPO unit. Read More

The MSR Value Accordion: Down in 3Q, Up in 4Q

Depository institutions posted nice gains in MSR values in the fourth quarter, thanks to rising interest rates. But higher rates come at a cost in the form of lower originations. Read More

FHFA’s Bi-Merge Credit Effort Stalls, Possibly for Good

Republicans, who have long opposed the bi-merge credit scoring model, now control Congress. That, combined with Trump’s “regulatory freeze,” could spell the end of this part of credit report reform. Read More

Wildfires to Increase California’s Property Insurance Challenges

The wildfires add new challenges to California’s growing property insurance and housing affordability crisis. Read More

CFPB Warns That Some Homeowners are Underinsured

Some homeowners’ properties may be underinsured due to disparities in flood-risk mapping, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Read More

Grapevine: Another Bank Leaves the Mortgage Market; Trump’s First Day

WaFd Bank is ending its mortgage origination activity; TD Bank is considering selling jumbo mortgages; some banks are still increasing their mortgage business; President Trump issues order on housing, freezes regulatory efforts. Read More

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