Origination

Hudson City Bancorp—a large correspondent buyer of loans in the New York/New Jersey area—intends to limit its mortgage lending this year as it looks to diversify its mortgage-heavy balance sheet and improve its regulatory capital ratios.

Mortgage applications fell by almost 4% for the seven-day period ending April 20 after a brief week of improvement, according to new figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The national delinquency rate continued its downward slide in 2012, falling to just over 7% at March 31, down 6% from the month prior, according to new figures compiled by Lender Processing Services for its “First Look Mortgage Monitor” report.

EverBank Financial, a top ranked mortgage lender, finally set a price for a planned $225 million capital raise after sitting on its initial public offering for half a year.

The FBI mortgage fraud caseload is on track to pass last year’s volume and possibly even the record total reached in fiscal 2010.

BOK Financial, Tulsa, Okla., reported first-quarter earnings of $83.6 million, up from 29% from a year earlier, as credit costs lowered and mortgage banking revenue soared.

New home sales in January and February were much higher than originally reported, taking some steam out of transactions for March, which fell 7% from the prior month.

In a few weeks we’ll know whether the Treasury Department’s third largest investment in housing/mortgages will file for bankruptcy protection. I’m talking about Residential Capital Corp./GMAC, which recently missed a bond payment and has 30-days to make good on it.

Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday morning that home prices fell in February for the sixth consecutive month to the lowest level since 2002.

Eagle Bancorp, Bethesda, Md., originated and sold off more residential mortgages in the first quarter, which helped boost profits by almost 49%, to $7.6 million, from a year earlier.