Economy

Fourth-quarter mortgage banking income at Wells Fargo & Co. totaled $1.7 billion, up 10% from the $1.5 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2014, as the gain on originations and sales increased by $145 million year-over-year.

Life insurance companies posted a higher return on their private commercial mortgage investments in the third quarter of 2015, compared to the second quarter, according to LifeComps.

Brokers and small lenders are being crushed under the weight of heavy regulation, leaving loan officers little choice but to shoulder the burden themselves — or move to an organization that can handle the regulatory requirements.

The availability of debt and equity financing declined during the most recent quarter, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.

JPMorgan Chase reported a 21% drop in year-over-year earnings for its mortgage business as revenue dropped 10%.

Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages fell further this week due to overseas turmoil, according to Freddie Mac.

For luxury-home developers and brokers in Miami and Manhattan who are already contending with slumping prices and slowing demand, the U.S. government's decision to start scrutinizing all-cash buyers was more bad news.

Spreads widened on Freddie Mac's latest offering of Structured Agency Credit Risk securities as investors demanded additional compensation for taking on the credit risk of mortgages insured by the company.

Homeowners continue to have an overinflated sense of the value of their homes, at least compared to the opinion of professional appraisers, according to Quicken Loans.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has filed charges against three California-based home loan modification companies and nine of their employees for allegedly violating the Fair Housing Act.

Independent mortgage lenders are expecting a wave of consolidation prompted by excessive compliance costs, a tepid housing recovery and the need for more capital to grow their businesses. Roughly 20% to 25% of independent companies could be eliminated or change hands in less than two years.

President Obama's administration, citing concern about the origin of funds used for all-cash purchases of luxury real estate, said it is stepping up scrutiny of transactions in New York and Miami.

Social media offers a unique opportunity to make personal connections online, but mortgage lenders should tread lightly when using this channel as a lead source for new borrower prospects.

Midtown Manhattan, once the pinnacle of U.S. office markets, is facing a jump in large, empty work spaces as new towers open and tenants spread out across the city, including outer boroughs that businesses once shunned.

Mortgage applications increased 21.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Jan. 8 compared to a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Community bankers and credit unions scored a significant victory while others in the mortgage industry lost out in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's final rule establishing membership standards for the Home Loan banks.

Auction.com has rebranded at the corporate level to Ten-X, as the company begins to grow other segments beyond its auction-based platform.

Consumers increasingly fell behind on their payments in several loan categories in the third quarter as economic growth cooled.

The agency scrapped a part of its 2014 proposal that would have required Home Loan Bank members to maintain a certain percentage of residential mortgage assets in order to keep their membership. But the agency held fast on a provision that would disqualify captive insurance firms from membership.

Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro will get a boost in public visibility with a scheduled appearance on the Jan. 11 episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."