Finance

The government controlled Freddie Mac posted solid earnings of $1.1 billion in the second quarter – after paying the U.S. Treasury Department $1.8 billion in dividends on the preferred stock it owns.

Fortress Investment Group, which controls a large chunk of Nationstar Mortgage, has launched a $500 million private equity fund with a stated goal of buying mortgage servicing rights.

Valued Veterans, an appraisal management company, seeks to train military veterans as real estate appraisers.

At Origination News’ discussion with the officers of FAMP at its annual convention in Tampa, national housing correspondent Lew Sichelman asked how the changes to federal law have impacted the state’s education requirements and how conditions are in the various markets that make up this very diverse state.

MountainView Servicing Group, Denver, recently completed the sale of three bulk packages of mortgage servicing rights that had combined balances of $487 million.

Community Trust Bank had $385 million in outstanding warehouse commitments at June 30, almost double what it had a year ago.

Churchill Mortgage chief operating officer Matthew Clarke states “an investment in training is so important” for a mortgage lender and the Brentwood, Tenn.-based firm is putting its money where its mouth is.

The financial health of state housing finance agencies is mixed, Fitch Ratings reported last week.

To date, Redwood Trust has completed six jumbo securitizations in the post financial crisis era through its Sequoia Residential loan business – with no delinquencies, according to the REIT’s new ‘Redwood Review’ report.

The nation’s largest residential servicers—which just so happen to be megabanks—are marking down their MSRs to near fire sale prices.

In Origination News’ discussion with the officers of the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals at its annual convention in Tampa, national housing correspondent Lew Sichelman asked how the changes to federal law have impacted the state’s education requirements and how conditions are in the various markets that make up this very diverse state.

United Guaranty Corp. earned $43 million in the second quarter, compared to a profit of $12 million in the same period a year ago as its risk-based pricing strategy bolstered its bottom line.

Freddie Mac has named Charlotte Catalfo, a 28-year veteran of Principal Residential Mortgage, as interim senior vice president in charge of operations for its single-family program.

President Obama disagrees with the Federal Housing Finance Agency's refusal to allow principal reductions on mortgages but can do little to stop it.

One of the biggest compliance and litigation risks for lenders involves the performance of branch managers.

Provident Funding Associates, the nation’s ninth largest residential originator, has told its correspondent sellers that it will no longer accept mortgage insurance from the troubled MGIC Corp.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has already increased guarantee fees on GSEs loans by 10 basis points this year—as required by Congress—but a new round of g-fee hikes is in the works.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, which started out in life solely as a nonperforming loan investor, is now cleaning up as a correspondent buyer of newly originated loans.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s decision to reject adoption of a principal reduction program had very little impact on the pricing of $53 billion of MBS backed by Home Affordable Refinance Program loans.

In an interview with Credit Union Journal, NCUA board member Michael Fryzel describes the mood and the thinking at NCUA in the months leading up to the conservatorship of WesCorp.