Origination

With the exception of a slight drop in the currently little-used one-year Treasury ARM, the average rate for most common loan types continued to inch up during the week ending April 7 — a trend that one lending executive believes could give a boost to "assumable" FHA loans.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ—Executives at Credit Plus Inc., Salisbury, Md., are taking the initiative to remind the mortgage industry of the need to protect consumer credit data it gets during the application process.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." That's great for the elementary school playground, but in the world of customer service, words count. What we say to customers can have an enormous impact on how customers view us and how we view ourselves.

Although lawmakers were ostensibly supposed to debate ways to overhaul the structure and authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a hearing Wednesday in a House Financial Services subcommittee was sidetracked by questions over whether the agency should exist at all.

Mortgage Technology magazine will again recognize innovative technology developers and the lenders that benefit from those advances with its Top Service Providers and Tech Savvy Lenders awards. These recognitions have a long tradition in the mortgage finance and technology industries and are among the most coveted awards in the space.

A House Financial Services Subcommittee Wednesday approved eight separate bills to reform and downsize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae.

Mortgage application volume decreased by 2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending April 1 — although purchase business increased to the highest level of the year, according to figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Bond fund giant PIMCO is launching a new real estate finance company, and plans to raise up to $600 million through an initial public offering of stock, according to a new fling with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Wells Fargo & Co. originated $44.8 billion of commercial real estate loans in 2010 — including $8.5 billion of multifamily product — once again ranking first among all lenders in the sector, according to figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Weakness in the housing market did not stop the economic recovery from gaining a "firmer footing" during February and the first-half of March, according to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee.