Origination

The surge in refinancing, now down to a virtual trickle, was officially pronounced dead and gone at the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual secondary market conference in New York.

The chief congressional proponent of the risk retention rule says federal regulators have gone too high in setting a 20% downpayment requirement on single-family loans that meet the “qualified residential mortgage” test.

The loan officer compensation rule, among other regulatory changes, is beating down the entrepreneurial spirit of the loan originator, but at the same time, LOs need to understand these changes and put them into their business plans, said a past president of the Arizona Mortgage Lenders Association.

Typically businesses and individuals set their goals at New Years, for any number of reasons. First, it is traditional (the New Year's resolution). But also for most companies and sales people, their fiscal year is the same as the calendar year and so they create their business plan to fit that time frame.

The Community Reinvestment Act has been a durable instrument for expanding lending in the United States. The question now is, is it exportable to other countries?

Demand for commercial real estate loans jumped during the first quarter to one of the highest readings in over a decade, according to the Federal Reserve's periodic survey of senior loan officers.

The White House keeps insisting it has not made a final choice for director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but there is a growing expectation that Elizabeth Warren will soon get the nod.

Despite a decrease in sales, existing homes in Texas still managed to retain their value in the first quarter, according to the latest report from the state's Realtors group.

The residential mortgage division of Ally Financial posted earnings of $34 million in the first quarter, a 78% decline from the same period a year ago.

The primary units that private equity group TPG Capital acquired from MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates will be grouped together and operated under the brand name DataQuick.