Originations

Builders pulled back on the construction of single-family homes in February but forged ahead with multifamily starts, according to new government figures released Tuesday morning.

The correspondent lending arm of Wells Fargo Bank this week began publishing a list of third-party originators that it will no longer buy loans from in the secondary market -- as a way to address what it calls "risks" in loan origination.

Congress has restored a housing counseling fund for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after eliminating it in 2011 and at almost half of the $88 million approved during the first two years of the Obama administration. Now HUD officials worry about the amount of settlement dollars to be used for counseling.

Over the past week the interest rate on certain loans have risen by up to 50 basis points, but the residential finance industry is hardly panicking, at least not yet.

Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has drafted a proposed set of guidelines for sound residential mortgage underwriting practices.

There is a significant disconnect in the jumbo mortgage space between the primary and the secondary markets. Since the implosion of financial markets in the fall of 2008 the once-thriving and vibrant non-agency MBS market has evaporated. Despite some attempts to resuscitate the jumbo secondary, the gulf between investor needs and what consumers want remains large.

As more submissions come in for our Top 150 Originator list, preliminary data shows we have a new leading producer for 2011. He is Eric Magee of Union Bank, with total volume of $234 million.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - The qualified mortgage definition, which should come out next month from the Consumer Financial Protection Board, needs to be carefully crafted, otherwise it will affect credit availability and affordability, said the regulatory counsel for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Declining mortgage rates during the fourth quarter fired up refinancings of high LTV loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to new Home Affordable Refinancing Program figures released Monday afternoon.

Freddie Mac's first offering of structured pass-through "K" certificates backed exclusively by multifamily mortgages with a five-year term is in the works this week, and is expected to settle on or about April 11.

Wells Fargo is already contacting borrowers who might be eligible for a principal reduction as required under the $25 billion robo-signing settlement with state and federal law enforcement agencies.

In the old days every major Wall Street house and mega-lender had a whole loan trading desk. Some survived and some folded. Some continue to concentrate on CRA eligible loans, while others are actively trading nonperforming mortgages.

Residential Finance Corp., a Columbus, Ohio-based mortgage lender which last year added a retail branching business to its call center operation, has been so successful in that transition that it is moving the Charlotte, N.C.-based operations center for that unit into a space more than four times larger.

Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told a group of business journalists Friday that he is looking forward to being held accountable by them. Moments later, he was defending the agency's power.

An AMC launched a new software that was developed on a platform as a service provided by customer relationship management technology provider Salesforce.com.

The struggling housing market needs to look to every possible financing source. So, how are housing bonds doing? According to our sister publication, The Bond Buyer, housing bonds were off last year. But in a small victory, they were not off as much as the entire market.

The growth of social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn has aided many mortgage originators in their ability to communicate with their customers. But for the companies they work for, these tools could be a compliance nightmare.

The definition of perfectionism is "a personal standard, attitude, or philosophy that demands perfection and rejects anything less." That definition sounds like a personality characteristic that could help every loan professional succeed. But what if being a perfectionist could actual hinder your success?

On March 7, U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake sentenced Paige Kinney, aka Jamielee Miller, to 15 years in prison. Kinney had previously pleaded guilty to various charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme and to charges of bankruptcy fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank fraud in two separate indictments.

If it's springtime it's time for one of the things I anticipate the most in the mortgage calendar.