Corporate finance

The lender and servicer is still in the red but trimmed its expenses, and overall losses, significantly in 2023.

Reverse mortgage lender Finance of America posted a quarterly profit to end 2023, as it completed post-merger integrations and faced warnings of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.

The company originated more loans to buy homes than Detroit-area rival No. 2 Rocket did in total during the fourth quarter.

A rate drop was a common concern for some servicers during the quarter, and Ocwen recently took a step aimed at better addressing this risk in the future.

The megalender and servicer Rocket reported annual origination volume in 2023 of $78.7 billion, a 40% decline from 2022.

As the book of business written during the 2020 to 2022 period enters peak delinquency years, default notices are expected to rise, fourth quarter earnings comments revealed.

The company was able release credit reserves because of actual and forecasted prices that boosted net income, CEO Priscilla Almodovar said.

The government-sponsored enterprise financed 955,000 mortgages last year, down from the 1.8 million loans it backed in 2022.

Other servicing gains helped Mr. Cooper profit despite negative mark-to-market valuations and cyberattack costs that led to lower consecutive-quarter results.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council is concerned over liquidity of these companies, especially if a warehouse lender was to pull its lines, leading to a failure.

The added revenue from servicing plus the data and analytics segment helped to improve the quarter-to-quarter results at the mortgage technology behemoth.

Markdowns on its MSR portfolios drove the company into the red, even as originations and servicing operations both saw profits.

A day after the regional bank's stock tumbled on tough fourth-quarter results and some austerity moves, observers debated whether management just needs time to build enough capital to catch up with growth or if it is still too overexposed in multifamily lending.

Chairman and CEO of Pennymac, David Spector, said the one-time cost will allow the company to retain ownership of a proprietary system that could build value for investors.

The parent company of Flagstar Bank surprised investors by slashing its dividend, charging off two large real-estate loans and preparing for more trouble in the office and multifamily sectors.

The company's building unit saw income slow, but the mortgage banking division number accelerated on both a quarterly and annual basis.

The net proceeds will be used to pay down borrowings on a credit line secured by its mortgage servicing portfolio.

Two Harbors, which also reported a gain in comprehensive income, recently completed an acquisition that made it the eighth largest conventional servicer.

Cullen/Frost in Texas, BankUnited in Florida and Bank OZK in Arkansas are among the banks that have, at least for now, allayed investors' fears about their exposure to the CRE sector.

At the same time, the Hilltop Holdings unit expects its gain-on-sale margins to remain pressured in the coming year.