Secondary

This year's sluggish spring home buying season led to generally softer mortgage-related second quarter results at Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and PNC Financial Services Group, but First Republic Bank bucked the trend.

Strong demand for business and multifamily loans, combined with double-digit growth in wealth management revenues, more than offset rising expenses.

Mortgage fees at the nation’s biggest home lender declined by a third in the three months ended June 30 to the lowest in more than five years.

The collateral includes both QM and non-QM loans; however, certain loans are designated as QM even though the borrower’s DTI may be above 43%, due to a temporary exemption for GSE-eligible loans.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may need to tap into U.S. Treasury funds when they adopt CECL, a new accounting rule that makes companies set aside money upfront for expected loan losses.

Greater consumer access to credit could help mortgage bankers replenish originations eroded by higher rates, but they are reluctant to depart from the status quo to provide it.

The $109.3 million CLEAN 2018-1 is also the first deal to be marketed as a Rule 144A transaction under securities regulation making it available to wide base of institutional investors.

Brian Montgomery is examining why the reverse mortgage program has suffered big losses, but he said he opposes any changes that could make it harder for the elderly to stay in their homes.

Optimal Blue is expanding its reach in the secondary mortgage market by acquiring Resitrader, a whole-loan trading marketplace that has integrations with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Access to mortgage credit inched up in June, as competition for jumbo loans resulted in looser underwriting, but government lending standards got more restrictive, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.