Origination

Sandler O'Neill & Partners Tuesday upgraded its ratings on Genworth Financial, calling the company a "buy" because its share price is declining as a result of its U.S. mortgage insurance business.

After targeting two branch offices of Prospect Mortgage for an audit, the HUD Office of Inspector General is urging the Federal Housing Administration to conduct full underwriting reviews to protect the agency from paying potential claims on 166 delinquent FHA-insured loans.

Single-family housing starts unexpectedly jumped 9.4% in June from the previous month with multifamily activity spiking 32%.

This legislation might as well be called "The Kick the Can Act" and for once, its backers aren't ashamed to admit it. In fact, they're damn proud of it. It's the whole point.

Wells Fargo & Co., the nation's largest residential originator, funded $64 billion of new home loans in the second quarter, a 31% decline from 1Q and a sign that mortgage bankers are in for some tough sledding in the months ahead.

The Obama administration’s plan to reduce the high end of the Federal Housing Administration’s loan limits will do little to help what should be its target markets of first-time, minority and low-income homebuyers, a report from George Washington University’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis declared. If anything, to help those markets, further reductions in the ceiling and floor are needed.

While the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remains uncertain, there are a number of things the two are doing to improve their operations and financial soundness, according to Patrick Lawler, chief economist and associate director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

I recently came across a press release that said what I have been saying for years—the only way small businesses are able to compete against the big guys is by their emphasis on customer service.

The residential finance division of Bank of America posted a stunning loss of $13 billion in the second quarter as delinquent mortgages, expected legal settlements and charges tied to 'reps and warranties' on loans sold into the secondary market hammered its performance.

If the economy remains sluggish and credit conditions remain tight, the homeownership rate could fall another one to two percentage points, according to a study funded by the Mortgage Bankers Association.