Servicing

Wells Fargo experienced a 28% drop in mortgage origination volume in the third quarter and it ended the quarter with a substantially reduced application pipeline due to the decline in refinancing activity.

SunTrust Banks will offer $500 million in consumer assistance and make a cash payment of $468 million as a result of an agreement with the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development over claims tied to faulty mortgages.

Debra Still will assume leadership of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Opens Doors Foundation.

Slightly more than half of last year's Home Affordable Refinance Program participants had previously been turned down, loanDepot said.

Approximately two-thirds of unpaid principal balance represents office properties and most are in major markets.

The portfolio is going up for bid on Oct. 17 and is reportedly from an entity that originally planned to be a buyer rather than seller.

Interest rate concerns that forced mortgage REITs to trade at the lowest valuation during the past few years will be less of an issue going forward.

The portfolio consists of 115 mostly fixed-rate loans, all from Kentucky.

The housing industry appears to be returning to a healthy market again as foreclosures nationwide continue to fall in September.

The average rates for 30- and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages inched up a bit during the week ending Oct. 10 in Freddie Mac’s latest survey.