Risk management

Genworth Financial's mortgage insurance business, which had slipped in market share, has more certainty about its future prospects after a federal government committee approved the holding company's acquisition by China Oceanwide.

Private mortgage insurance was used on approximately 4% fewer loans in 2017 when compared with 2016, according to the U.S. Mortgage Insurers.

As mortgage lenders continue seeking ways get more trustworthy consumers into the housing market, a majority of them are utilizing alternative credit as a means of assessing borrower risk, according to Experian.

As the mortgage industry moves farther past the housing crisis, access to credit remains tight, especially for first-time homebuyers.

If Freddie Mac's credit-risk transfer activities continue to grow, mortgage lenders could eventually see a reduction in the guarantee fees they pay to the government-sponsored enterprise, according to CEO Donald Layton.

Freddie Mac and Arch Capital are testing a new form of risk-sharing deal to boost investor appetite for low down payment mortgages. But the pilot is raising concerns about "charter creep" because it dictates private mortgage insurance decisions typically made by lenders.

Blue Lion Capital, which is upset with the Seattle company's growth strategy, also wants to replace two of the company's directors.

Freddie Mac posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $3.3 billion and will request $312 million from the Treasury after recent tax reform legislation forced it to write down the value of deferred tax assets.

Servicers that handle loans in the government's Making Home Affordable program could face more enforcement at the urging of the Special Investigator General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Compliance is a significant cost center for mortgage lenders. But with bulk rates, technology and better process management, some lenders have found new ways to reduce the burden.