Origination

The Department of Housing and Urban Development found recently that a Federal Housing Administration down payment assistance program translated to higher mortgage rates for borrowers.

The Federal Housing Administration is expected to rebuff a government watchdog report that blasted down payment assistance programs. The report has raised concerns that mortgage lenders would have to indemnify FHA for past loans, and that housing finance agencies would have the programs restructured.

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings returned to profitability in the second quarter after the previous quarter's significant loss.

The title and real estate services portion of Fidelity National Financial Inc. earned $160 million in the second quarter, up from $142 million one year prior because of higher revenue and margins.

Ares Commercial Real Estate reported a higher second-quarter profit on growth in principal lending and mortgage banking.

There was a six-basis-point decline in the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage during the week ending July 30, Freddie Mac said in its latest weekly report.

Prospect Mortgage will end any activities being undertaken as part of marketing services agreements because of regulatory risk.

The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would delay the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's enforcement of the new TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure rules. It also approved two additional bills addressing the qualified mortgage rule and GSE executive compensation.

Regulators have given the merger between CIT Group and OneWest Bank the green light — so long as CIT comes up with a revised Community Reinvestment Act plan. This condition is good news for the low-income communities impacted by the merger and sets a strong precedent for regulators' review of future bank deals.

EverBank Financial, driven by growth in jumbo mortgage originations, had second quarter home loan volume of $2.7 billion, up from $2.2 billion one year prior.