Origination

Houston area home values continued their upward track, while rental rates dropped in June, a new report showed.

Increased dealings in direct consumer lending and guaranteed student loans offset a decline in mortgage-related income. A lower loan-loss provision also helped the bottom line.

The California lender, which specializes in trade finance, reported strong growth in commercial and other lending categories last quarter, and it urged the Trump administration to seek fair trade deals with China.

Borrowers with variable-rate debt affected by Federal Reserve rate hikes showed they could handle December's 25-basis-point increase, but that could be changing as short-term rates continue to rise.

Fannie Mae is increasing the maximum debt-to-income ratio it will allow on purchased loans to 50% from 45% on single-family loans when it rolls out its latest version of Desktop Underwriter on July 29.

When market prices rise faster than comparable home sales values it is imperative for lenders to ensure property valuations are accurate, support the sales price and completed in a timely fashion to keep deals from falling through. (Part four in a four-part series on the mortgage industry's response to the housing inventory shortage.)

A former California mortgage lender agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle civil fraud allegations that its lending practices in the Southeast caused taxpayers to lose millions of dollars when homeowners defaulted on their loans after the Great Recession.

Mortgage rates moved back below 4%, pushed by last week's weak economic data report, according to Freddie Mac.

Two reports this week are singing harmony about the metro Atlanta housing market: there are fewer homes sold, while the ones that are selling are going for higher prices.

MGIC Investment Corp. reported second-quarter net income of $118.6 million, an improvement from the $109.2 million for the same period last year.