Finance

Tom Marano, a former Bear Stearns banker, was apparently well compensated following the housing crisis for heading up ResCap and Ditech, both of which went into bankruptcy.

Impac Mortgage Holdings generated $1.4 million in net income during the third quarter in earnings that were favorable compared to a string of losses in the past year.

The two newest private mortgage insurance companies had their best quarters ever for new insurance written, aided by the increase in consumers refinancing with less than 20% home equity.

Zillow Group reported third-quarter revenue that beat estimates as growing sales in its online marketing and home-flipping businesses sent shares higher in late trading.

In the latest example of a new wave of mortgage-related fintech investment, Snapdocs will boost its artificial-intelligence capabilities with its new $25 million funding round.

Black Knight and PennyMac Financial Services are suing each other in separate disputes linked respectively to the latter's creation of a servicing platform and the former's dominant position in the market.

An increase in credit risk transfer activity since 2015 signifies a sea change for private mortgage insurers that may be about to intensify, according to an industry trade group.

Ocwen Financial's cost-cutting initiatives are bearing fruit toward returning to profitability, management said, although the company's third-quarter loss was slightly higher than the same period one year ago.

Sixty percent of the loans were underwritten with just 12- or 24-month bank statements, according to ratings agency reports.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking comment on a proposal that could pave the way for potential Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac competitors to use the uniform mortgage-backed security structure.

Early payment mortgage defaults went to the highest level in nearly a decade, particularly among loans included in Ginnie Mae securities, a Black Knight report said.

The Dallas company said it should be able to avoid restating past financial results. It also reported higher quarterly earnings helped by increased mortgage activity.

More private mortgage insurers reported significant year-over-year gains in new business during the third quarter, mainly driven by the increase in refinance volume.

A risk management model revision that decreased single-family loan-loss allowances and a strong mortgage lending environment contributed to consistent earnings results at Fannie Mae in the third quarter.

Record originations helped Mr. Cooper Group generate its first full-quarter profit since its formation through a merger between WMIH and Nationstar last year.

Shares in the lender fell after it reported lower third-quarter profits, said nonperforming assets rose and cautioned that it had lost multifamily loan deals to competitors offering easier terms.

Freddie Mac will make haste to leave conservatorship in line with new regulatory directives, but it's uncertain how quickly it can move, CEO David Brickman said in an earnings call.

Home lenders will benefit from elevated refinance activity through the first half of next year, but volume may then fall off quickly, according the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest forecast.

When it comes to possible new competitors in the secondary market, the heads of the two current outlets more than welcomed the possibility of additional players in their space because of housing finance reform.

Ginnie Mae is looking for input on its proposed guidelines for electronic promissory notes and other mortgage documents that it plans to test through a digital collateral pilot.