Financial institutions

Sluggish growth in originations spurs consolidation. Keep in mind, there's more to M&A than just agreeing on a price.

Nondepositories in the mortgage business cut 2,900 more jobs in February, bringing industry employment to its lowest point in nearly three years.

Housing finance reform could give banks an advantage and challenge nonbanks if it reduces Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's involvement in the mortgage market, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Independent mortgage bankers lost the largest amount for originating a loan in the fourth quarter since this data has been tracked, as costs rose and volume dropped, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage lenders' gain on the sale of loans to the secondary market has finally increased after several quarters of declines, according to Richey May.

Ginnie Mae could limit how much servicing income mortgage lenders can sell off through a transaction if they don't establish a minimum 25-basis-point spread at the portfolio level by next year.

As 2019 got underway, weakness in the housing market drove the number of workers employed by nondepository mortgage companies down to a low not seen since August 2016.

Mr. Cooper Group took a net loss of $136 million in the fourth quarter after lower rates hurt the mark-to-market value of its larger mortgage servicing rights portfolio harder than its peers.

Policymakers could improve independent mortgage banks' financial stability by giving these companies improved access to liquidity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The company disclosed that it paid $146 million for servicing rights associated with $13 billion in mortgages.

Credit card issuers would have to set aside more in reserves because of higher loss histories, according to research by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods on the impact of the new loan-loss standard.

Ginnie Mae should not overreact in supervising smaller, more diversified mortgage bankers, but rather scale its approach in line with the concentration of risk that different-sized servicers pose.

Why now? Will it work? How will their rivals respond? The megadeal between the two East Coast regionals offers up plenty of grist for speculation.

The industry's largest acquisition in more than a decade will create the sixth-biggest bank in the country, with assets of more than $442 billion.

Nonbank mortgage companies cut payrolls by 3,100 full-time employees in December, bringing the level of the hiring in the industry to its lowest point in more than two years.

Residential mortgage-backed securities servicers are better able to weather a downturn and the resulting loan defaults today versus before the crisis because of their investments in technology and regulatory compliance, Fitch Ratings said.

Some hopeful souls in Washington believe the commercial banking industry will return to originating and servicing higher-risk mortgages, but most banks are more likely to continue withdrawing from the sector.

CrediFi helps bankers pursuing commercial real estate loan growth minimize the risk in lending to customers they historically haven't served.

As suspense builds over which firm will be the first to seek the special-purpose charter, a side discussion has emerged over which financial services sector has the most to gain — or lose — from the new option.

Independent mortgage banks have been instrumental in filling the void left by banks that have retreated from the home lending market since the Great Recession.