ARMs

There is now less fraud risk associated with adjustable-rate mortgage applications and this will offset some of the higher hazard associated with a purchase market.

Refinance mortgages accounted for 45% of mortgage volume, the highest share in a year, according to Ellie Mae.

MountainView is brokering a nonrecourse $3.5 billion package of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage servicing rights on behalf of an unnamed seller.

Mortgage rates ticked down this week after previously hitting their highest level since July, according to Freddie Mac.

A slight decrease in the number of jumbo investor offerings contributed to lower consecutive-month credit availability in October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Slightly looser underwriting outside the government sector is primarily responsible for the latest increase in credit availability.

Looser underwriting standards for agency-eligible adjustable-rate mortgages helped increase credit availability in August to its highest level since April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Loan application defects were unchanged for July compared with June, the first time in eight months there has not been an increase, according to First American Financial Corp.

A Fed committee studying Libor’s replacement has dwelled heavily on the potential impact to the derivatives market. Loans may become a bigger part of the conversation later this year, but the panel plans to leave a lot of the specifics up to lenders.

Picking a new benchmark for adjustable-rate mortgages is the easy part. Industrywide implementation is where things get tricky.