Origination

With a probable Federal Reserve rate increase on the horizon, title insurance providers are optimistic about future real estate transactions, according to First American Financial Corp.

Eileen Serra, 61, the chief executive of the Chase Card Services unit, will step down in January and become an adviser to the company on growth initiatives, according to a memo Wednesday from Gordon Smith, JPMorgan's CEO of consumer and community banking.

The consumer lending market, including mortgages, will fully recover from the financial crisis by the end of 2016, according to a forecast by TransUnion.

San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston are in danger of becoming real estate bubbles, according to Zillow.

Loan limits for the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program in 2016 will rise in 188 counties across the nation where home prices increased.

For renter households in the U.S., new research on the current market has told a persistently troublesome story, with falling vacancy rates pushing rents higher and forcing households to spend greater shares of their incomes on housing.

Mortgage applications rose 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Dec. 4, compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Calvin Hagins, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's deputy assistant director for originations, warned mortgage lenders this week about four contentious areas that its examiners will zero in on next year.

High loan-to-value ratio lending is gaining ground, spurred by the reintroduction 12 months ago of GSE-backed products that only require a 3% down payment, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Mortgage credit availability declined in November because of a reduction in the number of adjustable-rate mortgage programs, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.