Servicing

Vulture fund PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust on Thursday said it will sell 8 million additional shares of common, using some of the proceeds to purchase $250.5 million worth of whole loans.

Nearly $79 billion worth of real estate changed hands via auction last year, according to an Indiana-based management consulting firm.

First BanCorp has agreed to sell a loan portfolio with an unpaid principal balance of $516.7 million and a net book value of $438.5 million to a newly created joint venture in Puerto Rico.The size of this loan pool agreement is $185 million less than the amount originally stated for on Dec. 7, 2010 when First BanCorp signed the letter of intent to sell the portfolio.

Depositories could easily finance the demand for jumbo mortgages if Congress decides to substantially reduce GSE loan limits, according to a conservative think tank analyst.

The Treasury Department's 'white paper' on the future of the GSEs not only calls for the federal government to cut the government umbilical to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but estimates that certain mortgage rates could rise upwards of 150 basis points, according to sources who claim to be familiar with some of the plan's contents.

Many members of Congress—especially the hardcore conservative wing of the GOP—would love to see Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac disappear from the face of the earth. After seeing the GSEs tap Uncle Sam for $150 billion in cash (and counting) to keep their net worth position in the black, elected officials have said enough's enough.

Triumph Savings Bank, Dallas, this week hired industry veteran Barry Epstein to manage its new warehouse lending division, and plans to cater its effort to small nondepository mortgage bankers.

First Bancorp, San Juan, Puerto Rico, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell a loan portfolio with an unpaid principal balance of $516.7 million and a new book value of $438.5 million that is largely comprised of construction loans, but also contains some commercial real estate and commercial loans.

African-Americans and Latinos borrowed 62% less in 2009 to purchase or refinance homes when compared with 2004, while mortgages to whites declined by just 17% during the same time frame, according to a study of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data by ComplianceTech, Arlington, Va.

The House Financial Services Committee wants to cut off all federal funding for NeighborWorks America, which supports hundreds of community-based groups that provide safe and decent housing for low-income families.