Servicing

The Federal Housing Administration appears to be in process of a changing a March directive that made it more difficult to process refinancings.

Title insurance underwriters saw the volume of premiums written during the second quarter increase by $456 million over the same period last year, according to the American Land Title Association.

If the government is bent on winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sooner rather than later, then it helps that some major lenders are committing to buy back soured loans from the government-sponsored enterprises all at once, rather than quarter by quarter.

Plenty of mortgage banking firms are lining up to get their Ginnie Mae approvals so they can issue government-backed mortgage bonds and service the underlying loans.

One factor that could affect prepayments going forward is whether the federal officials decide to embark on another round of easing involving mortgage-backed securities purchases.

Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan explains the correlation between rising student loan debt and its impact on household formation and mortgage originations.

The Treasury Department announced Sunday that it is getting ready to sell $18 billion of the stock it purchased in American International Group, a move that will result in the government owning less than 20% of the insurance conglomerate.

Nationally, 18% of residential borrowers who are current on their loan payments are underwater, ranging from a low of 0.4% in Wyoming to 55% in Nevada.

The California firm pushing municipalities to seize loans for borrowers owing more than their homes' values, said it would expand its proposed program to include delinquent and defaulted debt.

Eminent domain for underwater loans and laws affecting foreclosures do impact loan originators, said the board of the California Association of Mortgage Professionals.