Financial institutions

Nonbank mortgage hiring inched down when overall employment plunged in April. The subsequent recovery in overall jobs suggests the housing-finance industry is still bearing up well despite coronavirus-related strain.

Independent mortgage banks started 2020 strong after three quarters of high profits, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Embrace will originate and close home loans in its own name for clients of the wealth management firm.

The sale completes First Choice affiliate Berkshire Hills Bancorp's exit from the mortgage origination business.

Previously, mortgage firms concentrated on borrower-facing systems at the expense of internal experience.

Hiring by nonbank mortgage and brokers held up unusually well through the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in March, but April's all-time high in unemployment suggests that's unlikely to last.

Mortgage lenders have imposed steep pricing adjustments for cash-out refinancing as more borrowers seek forbearance.

The Treasury secretary said recent government moves will help the firms get through the risk of millions of borrowers missing their loan payments.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has promised to take care of advances on principal and interest payments for coronavirus forbearances after four months, but servicers remain concerned about other responsibilities.

As the nation struggles with the coronavirus, now is not the time to make major revisions to the Community Reinvestment Act.

Lenders that split their sales of loans and servicing between two different investors may be facing yet another challenge due to the coronavirus outbreak.

FHFA head Mark Calabria and his FSOC counterparts need to sit down with the Treasury and fashion an emergency capital plan for the GSEs.

The lender is one of many taking advantage of the disruption in the market to grow their businesses.

Mark Calabria needs to be working to secure a Fed facility for servicer advances and to support, not denigrate, smaller servicers, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Ocwen Financial has approximately $749 million of liquidity from various sources to deal with servicing issues arising from the coronavirus, a company press release said.

Nonbank mortgage employment estimates show payrolls in February leveled off after an unusually strong winter, but anecdotal reports of selective hiring persisted through March amid a broader coronavirus-related drop in U.S. jobs.

Bank employment of mortgage loan officers rose slightly last year, but that was before the coronavirus spread and resulted in social distancing measures that raised questions about broader employment prospects.

Mortgage servicers need direction from federal agencies on how to implement the forbearance plans called for in the CARES Act, according to the Community Home Lenders Association.

Mortgage technology efforts have historically been behind the curve, but some recent responses to the coronavirus highlight instances where it rises to the occasion.

The government is cushioning the impact of the coronavirus on consumers, but independent mortgage bankers need funding to deal with increased levels of servicing advances because of forbearances.