Secondary

FHA officials believe lenders will qualify more borrowers with sub-680 credit scores via manual underwriting, but there is concern they will simply limit originations to plain-vanilla FHA.

The slide in refinancing brings commitments to purchase new mortgages to its lowest level since June 2011.

The portfolio also has an average loan size of $265,833 and is 100% first lien.

These institutions see an opportunity in a declining market to fill a void created by competitors exiting.

The settlement is part of CEO Brian Moynihan’s efforts to resolve liabilities tied to faulty mortgages that have cost the company at least $50 billion since the financial crisis.

The title underwriter will contribute its restaurant and auto parts investments into a new subsidiary.

The pool has a relatively high concentration of 11 hotel properties securing close to 21% of the allocated loan balance.

The real estate investment trust recorded a consecutive-quarter earnings gain on Thursday that reflects slower prepayments in its agency adjustable-rate mortgage portfolio during the last three months of 2013.

Chances that Congress will move this year to wind down or transform the GSEs are dimming as lawmakers confront a split among Senate Democrats and a change at the regulator of the mortgage finance companies.

The company said it bought Morgan’s European real estate loan servicing business, boosting the amount the U.K. debt manager oversees to about $13 billion.