Capital markets

Independent mortgage bankers reported their highest average profit per loan originated in almost three years, benefiting from a large drop in production expenses, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Blooma has developed a software product that combs databases to create property profiles for commercial real estate lenders. It can drastically cut origination costs and approval times and help banks identify safer loans, the company says.

Better.com has added new capital to support its growth and, in a separate deal, New Residential has agreed to use some its funds to buy property management firm DGG RE Investments.

Lower rates will likely sustain higher levels of origination through at least the third quarter, but supply constraints and economic weakness could limit the purchase market's response in the long term.

Mortgage-backed securities investors are looking to the specified pool market to counter higher prepayment speeds seen with loans purchased through the TBA window.

Mortgages auctioned off through a HUD distressed loan sale program perform worse than those unsold and are more likely to result in foreclosure, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

President Trump has signed the Protecting Affordable Mortgages for Veterans Act, which aims to address concerns that rules around certain VA refinances were impeding those loans' inclusion in secondary market pools.

Waterstone Mortgage is now qualifying borrowers without a traditional credit history for both its conventional and government mortgage programs.

Pretax mortgage income at NVR Inc. surged 37% year-over-year in the second quarter while originations rose 1%, contrasting more tepid home-loan earnings results relative to originations at big banks.

A Nomura Holdings Inc. unit will repay customers about $25 million to settle U.S. regulators' allegations that it failed to supervise traders who made false statements in negotiating sales of mortgage securities.

Lenders who employ a technology stack that tracks, collects and analyzes homebuyer behavior will have a distinct advantage as application volume rises.

After the government-sponsored enterprise patch expires, "near prime" loans over the 43% debt-to-income ratio should be qualified mortgages if they have compensating factors, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.

Making low-balance loans with poor economies of scale is tough in a market with slim margins, but it could have its rewards.

Freddie Mac fulfilled its promise to offer a single mortgage that finances the home purchase price and improvements completed after closing.

As officials prepare plans for the government-sponsored enterprises' exit from conservatorship, there's no shortage of speculation about what those plans might look like and how they might affect the mortgage industry.

Housing finance agencies reported increased demand for their loan products, but at the same time the inventory shortage constrains activity and drives them to work with other public entities to find solutions, Moody's said.

Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. will collect bids Tuesday on behalf of a seller for a more than $1 billion mortgage servicing rights package that includes securitized loans with alternative remittance cycles.

Nearly $300 million of municipal debt sold 12 years ago to expand Central New York's Destiny USA shopping mall were dropped to junk-level Ba2 by Moody's Investors Service.

Ginnie Mae is examining whether the shift in business to nonbank issuers has implications beyond the risks it has historically looked at, and identifying advantages that should be nurtured as well.

Independent mortgage banks became profitable again at the start of the year after realizing losses of $200 for each loan they originated in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.