Origination

A federal judge this week dismissed portions of the Securities and Exchange Commission's case against two former executives of IndyMac Bank, the now-defunct alt-A giant that was initially started by Countrywide Financial Corp.

The Home Affordable Refinancing Program is not giving perks to the right borrower.

Mortgage originations will fall to their lowest level in five years in 2012, according to the latest forecast by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

I like to set goals. It's a sickness.

It is no surprise that the law of supply and demand drives costs upward or downward depending on the trajectory of the major component. The same principle holds true in the rental market.

Lenders that order appraisals to support mortgage loans may be tempted, as a cost control measure or otherwise, to limit the number of approaches to value that an appraiser uses in performing the appraisal. But those lenders, and their AMCs, should proceed with caution. The uniform appraisal standards, known as USPAP, recognize three main approaches to value: the sales-comparison approach, the cost approach, and the income approach.

Washington is squeezing small banks and chasing off the private equity investors who could help them, financier Wilbur Ross says.

Old Republic International Corp. has taken the next step in separating out its private mortgage insurance and consumer credit indemnity insurance units by selling 20.6% of Republic Financial Indemnity Group to an investor group headed by ORI president Christopher Nard.

Political races bring on all sorts of silly comparisons so why not take a stab at asking this: who would produce a more profitable mortgage banking company: President Obama or Mitt Romney?

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes rose 3.4% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million units.