Finance

Esusu, a financial technology company that aims to help bridge the racial wealth gap by reporting rent payments to credit agencies, has become one of only a few Black-owned startups to reach a valuation of $1 billion after closing a Series B round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

Multifamily and specialty finance loans, which were highlights during the fourth quarter, should increase further in 2022, company executives said.

Among the mortgage industry investors in the product and pricing engine provider are Movement Mortgage and First American Financial.

Performing and re-performing loans are in the pool, as well as fixed, adjustable-rate and step-rate loans, and fully-amortizing balloon and interest-only mortgages.

The company will leverage its diversified consumer-finance model while optimizing a traditional mortgage business with thinner margins as the business cycle turns, CEO Patti Cook said.

Due to the rollback in stimulus and uncertainties related to other mortgage policy measures and rates, servicers are moving into uncharted waters, according to a Fannie Mae economist.

Collateral characteristics are slightly weaker than previous deals, due to a higher proportion of loans underwritten to alternative income documentation.

Office properties account for 60.8% of the pool, above the 41.2% average for 2020 deals, and above the 36.5% average for 2021.

The change aims to streamline the processing of certain pandemic-related loan options that accommodate lower monthly payment amounts for borrowers with long-term economic hardships.

The researchers found that the disparities that emerged from the analysis of 1.8 million appraisals from 2019 and 2020 were statistically significant.

Treasury dealers and investors are busy trying to predict exactly when the Federal Reserve might pull the trigger on cutting the size of its balance sheet and how big that drawdown could be when it does.

In addition to being almost entirely composed of investment-purpose mortgages, about 100% of the pool’s 2,175 mortgages are agency eligible.

Home valuation professionals have had mixed feelings about automation out of concern that some forms could result in less accurate assessments.

The equity commitment by M&G Investments adds to signs that the MSR market is heating up as mortgage rates rise and some buyers have become more confident in their prepayment rate projections.

Despite that year-over-year decline, the company beat analysts' expectations with fourth-quarter net income of $5.8 billion. Stronger commercial lending and lower expenses cushioned the blow in consumer credit.

The company's fourth-quarter trading revenue declined notably more than analysts had expected, while its business and consumer lending each dropped 1% year over year.

In a Senate confirmation hearing, the acting Federal Housing Finance Agency director echoed her predecessor’s view that restructuring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should fall to Congress, and pointed to measures aimed at mitigating risk for the agencies.

The SEC claims Morningstar put investors at a risk when rating $30 billion in CMBS deals from 2015-2016. Morningstar defends its integrity and independence.

The portfolio of MSRs from three types of government-related loans has a particularly large California concentration, and could be sold on a component basis, according to the Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp.

December was the fifth month out of the last six in which credit conditions loosened, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.