Origination

Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward DeMarco continued to play defense Tuesday as senators grilled him over his unwillingness to let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac forgive struggling homeowners' debt.

Mortgage bankers funded roughly $404 billion of home mortgages in the fourth quarter, a 13% sequential gain, but a 25% decline from the same period in 2010, according to final survey figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

The great Charlie "Tremendous Jones is very well known for this quote: "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read."

The Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry is ending its reinstatement for streamlined renewals Wednesday at midnight EST.

Commercial real estate property owners might not have enough equity to refinance their properties as loans originated in 2007 become due throughout this year, warns one expert.

The recently unveiled HARP 2.0 initiative should be “fully” operational in 30 days and is already exceeding expectations, according to Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan.

During a pair of appearances Tuesday on Capitol Hill, top housing officials from the Obama administration sought to reassure members of Congress about the financial condition of the Federal Housing Administration.

SunTrust Banks Inc., which has already lost hundreds of millions after repurchasing bad mortgages, could lose up to $150 million as it deals with the cost of mortgage-servicing problems.

Boston-based Highfields Capital Management, which owns a 7.7% stake in CoreLogic, accused CoreLogic's board of directors' "desire to maintain control rather than doing what is in the best interest of shareholders."

Single-family originations by commercial banks and savings institutions jumped 23% in the fourth quarter as refinancing activity accelerated from the prior period, according to new figures released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.