Corporate finance

Fidelity and Essent reported higher year-over-year profits in the last three months of 2019 as refinancing increased business volume, but Black Knight took a hit on its Dun & Bradstreet investment.

Freddie Mac saw a decline in net profit in 2019 due to decreased interest rate income, lower amortization revenue and risk-reducing investment costs, but its consecutive-quarter results improved.

Fannie Mae identified the adoption of hedge accounting and regular issuance of multifamily Connecticut Avenue Securities deals as among strategies it could continue to pursue while navigating regulatory uncertainties and change.

First American Financial, a title insurance underwriter and settlement services provider, is acquiring mortgage document firm Docutech for $350 million in cash.

NMI Holdings saw its insurance-in-force grow 38% over the past year as 90% of its clients used its black box pricing module during the fourth quarter.

Ocwen Financial Corp. is on track to become profitable on a pretax basis by the third quarter without any special items enhancing earnings, according to a preliminary release of its fourth-quarter results.

The strong refinance market in the fourth quarter propelled earnings at three different mortgage-related business that also were dealing with merger and acquisition activity during and after the period.

The U.S. mortgage insurance business remained a bright spot for Genworth Financial, as fourth quarter adjusted operating income increased 29% and new insurance written rose nearly 95% over the prior year.

A booming housing market coupled with low interest rates helped M/I Homes report record results for 2019.

Mortgage refinancings made up slightly under one-third of MGIC Investment Corp.'s new insurance written during the fourth quarter, contributing a significant percentage of its business.

A 10-basis-point year-over-year increase in gross margin on loans sold, along with a nearly 30% increase in origination volume, helped Waterstone Mortgage turn around its fourth-quarter results.

The six bills championed by Democrats aim to reduce consumer burdens and provide opportunities for borrowers to rehabilitate their credit, but the legislation garnered no Republican support.

The largest bank in Puerto Rico said hundreds of millions of dollars of its mortgages and consumer loans are tied to the parts of the island hit by the recent quake or still recovering from two hurricanes.

Flasgstar Bancorp's mixed results in its fourth-quarter earnings report are a sign strategic shifts it made to make its earnings less volatile are working.

Radian Group sold Clayton Services, a due diligence company it acquired in the 2014 purchase of Clayton Holdings, to Covius Holdings.

People's United in Connecticut is letting the loans run off its books as it invests in higher-yielding commercial loans.

Bank of America's fourth-quarter mortgage origination volume more than doubled on a year-over-year basis, a faster pace of growth than two of its national banking peers.

Fourth quarter gain on sale margin moved in opposite directions at two of the nation's largest banks, falling 9% quarter-over-quarter at JPMorgan Chase, but increasing 25% at Wells Fargo.

Stock prices rose for publicly-traded homebuilders after Lennar Corp.'s fourth-quarter orders and revenue beat estimates, even as home prices fell in the quarter.

The critical defect rate for closed mortgage loans continued its decline in the second quarter, as lenders benefited from increased loan volume and profitability, an Aces Risk Management study found.