Paul Muolo

Manhattan Mortgage, believed to be one of the largest loan brokerage firms in the greater New York area, is on the auction block.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust could raise $315 million in fresh cash when it closes on the sale of 15 million shares of its common.

We heard an interesting one the other day and it goes like this: certain banks may be asking their residential loan officers to sign an agreement that says they will not pursue their LO mortgage license with the state.

The Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. is selling almost $8 billion worth of Government National Mortgage Association servicing rights for an undisclosed client.

Norcom Mortgage has entered the correspondent channel and is now actively buying residential loans from community banks, nonbanks and credit unions.

A newly negotiated line allows PennyMac to tap Bank of America for up to $300 million.

If mortgage professionals feel like it’s hunting season on them, they have every right. Everywhere they look it appears that someone in government is trying to over-regulate their business, or sue them for alleged misdeeds that happened during the mortgage industry of yesteryear (pre-2008.)

On Monday, National Mortgage News will publish a story in its paper edition (yes, paper) that says the Federal Housing Finance Agency is working on language that will make GSE loans bullet proof from buybacks if they’ve been current for 36 months.

Default management has taken on a new urgency since the housing market crashed in early 2008.

Let it be known for all to see: Treasury just doesn’t want 10% from the GSEs; it wants EVERY penny the two make going forward.

The Treasury Department unveiled a bold new plan to speed up the dissolution of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying the two can no longer retain profits and must reduce their massive portfolio holdings at an annual rate of 15%.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and its auction advisor, DebtX, have set an auction deadline of Sept. 12 for investors to submit sealed bids on $1.7 billion of nonperforming residential loans.

Shortly, the Federal Housing Finance Agency will come out with its parameters on what can – and can’t – trigger a buyback request from their wards, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Shortly, the Federal Housing Finance Agency will come out with its parameters on what can – and can’t – trigger a buyback request from their wards, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Ocwen Financial hired industry veteran Jill Showell as its senior vice president for government and community relations.

Impac Mortgage Holdings originated $532 million of residential loans in the second quarter, a 135% gain from the same period a year ago as its business continued to grow at an impressive clip.

The mortgage industry – loan officers and brokers in particular – are anxiously waiting for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to unveil its final loan officer compensation proposal. The rule was slated for early August release and here it is mid-month and nothing’s been issued.

Regulators define a "high risk" mortgage as any first lien where the annual percentage rate exceeds the average prime offer rate by 1.5%.

National Mortgage Insurance Corp. is the second new mortgage insurance firm to emerge in the past three years, the other is Essent Guaranty, which has backing from Goldman Sachs.

Although many lenders find themselves swamped with new business, mortgage applications fell sequentially by 4.5% for the week ending Aug. 10.