Origination

The emotional side of financing a home is often overlooked by loan officers.

Tree.com, the parent of LendingTree, increased fourth-quarter revenue by more than half from a year earlier, a feat the company credited to strategy changes and new products.

Sens. Tim Johnson, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and Mike Crapo, the top Republican, received an overall warm welcome to their agreement on housing finance reform released Tuesday, after months of negotiation.

The upstart mortgage insurer says the deal will open the door to doing business with hundreds of small and midsize lenders that regularly sell loans to the two aggregators.

FBC Mortgage, a unit of the investment bank Sterne Agee Group, is seeking loan referral partnerships with community banks. In a recent deal it also hired HomeBanc's mortgage personnel.

Sens. Tim Johnson, chairman of the Banking Committee, and Mike Crapo, the top Republican, laid out a preliminary bipartisan agreement on housing finance reform after months of deliberation.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could return $179 billion in profits to taxpayers over the next 10 years if they continue operating under federal conservatorship, according to White House budget analysts.

Keith Pedigo, who led efforts to modernize the Department of Veterans Affairs home loan guarantee program, has joined The Collingwood Group, founded by a former FHA commissioner.

The bank likely was worried about dealing with sellers who did not have the net worth to buy back loans.

USMI, successor to the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America, says its top priority is to make sure whatever system replaces Fannie and Freddie uses at least as much private coverage.