Mortgage brokers

Year-end adjustments to mortgage industry employment statistics revealed a larger-than-expected increase in hiring by nondepository lenders and brokers during 2016.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hit Prospect Mortgage with a $3.5 million fine for illegally paying kickbacks to two real estate brokers and a mortgage servicer.

Only a few days remain for loan officers to complete the survey to be considered for the 2017 Top Producers rankings. The deadline is 6 p.m. EST Friday, Feb. 3.

Through Motto Mortgage, Remax is looking to give its smaller franchisees the same ability to offer one-stop shopping to homebuyers as larger operators, in a way that will not raise red flags for regulators.

Mortgage brokers and their wholesale partners have seen a slow increase in their market share since the start of the housing recovery. Remax's Motto Mortgage franchise business could accelerate growth faster than the channel's advocates hope for.

Independent mortgage banking and brokerage firms added 4,000 employees in November, even as rising interest rates took its toll on loan application volume.

The rise of digital mortgages and increasing lender consolidation are just two reasons mortgage brokers should make the transition to mortgage banking sooner rather than later.

Employment in the nondepository mortgage lenders and brokers sector grew for the fifth straight month, according to the Bureau of Labor of Statistics.

United Wholesale Mortgage is getting rid of escrow waiver fees for certain loans in a bid to make brokers more competitive with mortgage banks.

After nearly eight years of record-low mortgage rates and booming refinance volume, many signs indicate the run is winding down. Here's a look at 10 steps lenders should take now to stay profitable when rates rise and purchase loans drive the market.

Hiring by independent mortgage firms accelerated in September after a slowdown in the prior month.

Mortgage brokers were among the companies that received the regulator's warning letters, but brokers are not required to report HMDA data — leading many to suspect mini-correspondents, which straddle the line between broker and lender, were the recipients.

The CFPB sent letters Thursday to 44 mortgage lenders and brokers warning them of potential reporting violations related to their mortgage lending activities — infractions the bureau is increasingly pushing lenders to take seriously.

To successfully respond to the most pressing challenges facing the mortgage industry right now, lenders and servicers must navigate issues of competition, governance, affordability and margins.

A desire to own their own businesses led many loan officers to become mortgage brokers during the industry's growth period. As brokering regains its footing, that entrepreneurial spirit is making a comeback.

Nonbank lenders and brokers added 900 employees to their payrolls in August as home sales slowed.

United Wholesale Mortgage has rolled out a new tool that allows mortgage brokers to receive automated income verification.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has created a new grant program that is designed to expand the mortgage broker channel by helping mortgage professionals open their own wholesale shops.

Industry veteran A.W. Pickel III is heading to AmCap Mortgage to become president of the lender's newly formed Midwestern division.

It's no secret that subprime lending played a heavy role in the demise of the mortgage broker. But to truly understand how brokers rose to prominence, it is helpful to look back to the channel's beginnings. Here's a look at three data points that sum up the rise and fall of the mortgage broker.