Origination

Mortgage rates increased for the second week in a row as the Federal Reserve decided to raise short-term interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.

TowneBank in Suffolk, Va., has agreed to buy Monarch Financial Holdings in Chesapeake, Va., for $220.6 million in stock.

Analysts at Kroll Bond Rating Agency predict issuance in bonds backed by commercial mortgages could hit $125 billion next year, even with borrowing costs rising as interest rates go up.

There could be more willingness among lenders to roll back self-imposed requirements for agency loans in 2016, but secondary-market conditions will be mixed for mortgage sellers while rates and costs are poised to rise.

Mortgage stocks for the most part saw price per share gains in the wake of the Federal Open Markets Committee decision to raise short-term rates.

Real estate finance services provider Chronos Solutions in Frisco, Texas, has acquired San Diego-based mortgage technology company Cogent Road.

Credit scores on closed loans have declined for six consecutive months, according to the latest Ellie Mae Origination Insight report.

A new report from Fannie Mae suggests the millennial generation is getting a move on.

Mortgage applications declined 1.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Dec. 11 compared to a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Genworth Financial Inc. has named Kevin Schneider, currently executive vice president of global mortgage insurance, as its chief operating officer.