Originations

The private mortgage insurers, Radian Group and MGIC Investment Corp., finished Monday as the biggest gainers among Mortgage Industry Equity Composite stocks.

The nation’s title insurance underwriters, dominated by four national players but also including approximately 30 regional companies, as a whole are appropriately capitalized.

It is a sign of both the tough economy and the changing regulatory environment for mortgage servicers that they are upgrading the technologies they use to manage mortgage defaults.

VantageScore Solutions has reconstructed its credit scoring model both to aid lender implementation and consumer understanding.

Prime borrowers whose loans are making up the small number of private mortgage-backed securities pools issued since the start of 2010 are prepaying at rapid rates.

A $390 million large-loan commercial mortgage backed securities deal backed by a property on New York’s Fifth Avenue is coming to market with preliminary ratings from Kroll.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has no problem with the Federal Housing Administration’s decision to increase the downpayment requirements on FHA-insured jumbo loans.

A Federal Reserve Board governor expects the supply of existing homes on the market will remain tight for some time.

Commercial and multifamily debt outstanding increased nearly $30 billion during 2012, with a 4Q12 increase of nearly $22 billion, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The success of MGIC Investment Corp.’s recent equity and debt offerings has mitigated Standard & Poor’s concerns that the private mortgage insurer could be taken over by regulators.

Technology Credit Union has increased its lending limits on super jumbo loans up to $8 million on ARMs and $3 million on fixed-rate mortgages.

If the ranks of community banks are going to shrink, William Loving Jr., chief executive of Pendleton Community Bank, believes they will go down fighting.

Federal Reserve Gov. Elizabeth Duke said the improving housing market shows that the central bank’s $85 billion in monthly purchases are working to boost the economy.

Fitch Ratings said two potential reforms offer the most promise for bringing private capital back into the mortgage market.

There is one observer who is seeing people leaving larger organizations and returning to independent status.

The mortgage insurer loses only a penny on Friday.

The housing market is gaining momentum and house prices will be up 8% by the end of this year.

2013 is the year the housing market will see even stronger recovery.

A poster on the Mortgage Grapevine is looking to help a friend who has an old Wachovia Pick-a-Pay loan get a modification.