Originations

While United Guaranty Corp. posted an operating loss of $23 million in the fourth quarter, it was the private mortgage insurance industry's most prolific underwriter for the second quarter in a row, with new insurance written of $7.1 billion.

Bank of America Corp. is switching its U.S. employees -- according to its mortgage workers -- to a single defined contribution retirement plan at the end of the second quarter.

One of the more confusing areas of the loan officer compensation rules involves branch managers. Neither the rule nor its guidance made any mention of branch managers.

New home sales fell 1% in January after rising four straight months, according to new government figures released Friday morning.

Ah, the morning after a bitter split. Late yesterday Brian Moynihan of Bank of America walked into Fannie Mae's bedroom and told that secondary market hussy that the marriage was over. "No more loans for you," Moynihan shouted as he left the boudoir, suitcase in hand and a one-way ticket to Virginia where his new best friend, Freddie, awaited. (Okay, I made that part up but you get the drift.)

A new sales coaching student of mine asked an interesting question during our first session. "Steve, would you have difficulty selling a $5 bill for $4?" Without hesitation I replied, "No, however I'm sure to encounter several obstacles. With the proper preparation, when given the opportunity, I'm certain to succeed."

Launched a few months back, the correspondent lending division of American Home Mortgage Servicing is approaching a monthly run-rate of $500 million and could wind up buying upwards of $6 billion in product by the time its fiscal year ends in September.

How anxious are residential lenders and servicers about the new levels of regulation and compliance they are being subjected to? The answer is: plenty nervous.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development this week reissued a proposed rule that would reduce by half the maximum allowable seller concessions in an FHA loan transaction to 3%.

Bank of America Thursday afternoon confirmed that it will no longer sell any new purchase money mortgages to Fannie Mae -- though it will remain a HARP lender.

The text of commitment letters is extremely important and must contain the exact terms and conditions of a loan commitment. It will contain all essential specifics. In order for one to generate an effective commitment letter, one must have a clear understanding of all the terms. To get there, it is often desirable to start with a term sheet.

Home prices rose in 27 states during the fourth quarter as home values increased on GSE-related transactions during the final two months of 2011.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose eight basis points to 3.95% for the week ending Feb. 23, reflecting both an improving economy and housing market, according to new figures compiled by Freddie Mac.

Two Marlboro, N.J. residents - an attorney and an investment broker - this week pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to steal more than $2.6 million by filing fraudulent mortgage applications.

Radian Group, the nation's third largest mortgage insurer, posted a net loss of $122 million for the fourth quarter, an improvement from the $1.1 billion hit it took in the year ago period.

Marc Savitt is someone we call a "homer" - a fan who roots for the home team and in this case that home team happens to be mortgage brokers. Savitt, the former head of NAMB, has long believed that the brokerage sector would come back (at least to some degree) and that we would see a trend toward nonbank and depository loan officers switching over to broker status.

Even though the short sale market was slow to develop in 2011, there are many people within the mortgage industry that think 2012 could be the year of the short sale as delinquencies and foreclosures continue to be a major problem throughout the country.

I pay attention to tag lines! After the name of the company or the loan originator, a tag line is a phrase that "fills in the blanks" when it comes to providing a little more insight to what you do or what you have to offer your clients.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants to see if the multifamily businesses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can be spun off and privatized.

Vendor ClosingCorp said Thursday it is making available a service that helps credit unions handle good faith estimate disclosures.