Origination

Altisource Portfolio Solutions' acquisition of Mortgage Builder Software will close next month, the companies announced Monday, following weeks of rumors but no official confirmation of the deal.

In another reshuffling of its mortgage ranks, Bank of America has promoted D. Steve Boland, who joined the company through the 2008 acquisition of Countrywide Financial, to head residential lending.

Peoples Bancorp reported higher earnings in the second quarter than a year earlier thanks to a stronger loan portfolio.

The Atlanta bank's CEO sounds upbeat on the mortgage and housing markets. Unlike JPMorgan Chase, SunTrust appears to be committed to the FHA lending business following a large government settlement.

The general perception in the mortgage industry is that the CFPB and their new regulations are like an albatross around the necks of mortgage companies, especially the smaller independents.

Under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plan, lenders would need to respond to virtually every public complaint — even those by consumers, disgruntled employees, and competitors that abuse this forum.

ReadyCap Lending has acquired CIT Small Business Lending from its parent CIT Group, including $1.3 billion in servicing rights on loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau worries that mini-correspondent lenders are circumventing its qualified mortgage rule. But a large number of mortgage brokers converted to mini-correspondents because the rule made it harder to operate as a broker.

Republic Bancorp reported a slight bump in second-profits due to modest loan growth but results were tempered somewhat by a sharp drop in mortgage banking income.

Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. , the behemoths of the U.S. mortgage market, are surrendering more business to nonbank lenders.