Refinance

Tom Wind is once again leading a large bank's mortgage operation. As the new president of U.S. Bank Home Mortgage, he's set a course that embraces retail, regulation and the FHA.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's choice to raise conforming loan limits in 2016 for the first time in a decade is being met with enthusiasm from the mortgage industry, as it should prove to be a positive for future origination volume.

New loan applications for home purchases increased 19% from one week earlier as customers scrambled to get the process started in a rising interest rate environment, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Renewable Funding, emboldened by the success of its first three trips to the securitization market, is preparing to finance an even larger portion of its lending for energy efficiency upgrades.

Refinance activity rose as a share of overall closed loans in October, according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report.

Mortgage applications slumped last week after the sharpest increase in borrowing costs since mid-2013, signaling tougher sledding for the housing market.

Industry forecasts for 2017 mortgage volume assumed a continuation of current housing and economic policies under a Hillary Clinton administration. But with Donald Trump's win, analysts are sorting out what, if any, adjustments are needed to those projections.

Mortgage application volume decreased 1.2% from one week earlier as rates increased to their highest level since June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Hiring by independent mortgage firms accelerated in September after a slowdown in the prior month.

A new refinance mortgage offered by SoFi and Fannie Mae lets consumers tap into their home equity to pay down student loan debt at terms more favorable than a traditional cash-out refi.