Originations

The reverse mortgage loan origination business has matured to the point to where it needs a standardized loan data file format, said an executive with RMS, Houston.

"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live." —Martin Luther King, Jr.

Richard Cordray is center stage not just at a brand-new regulator. The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will also play a crucial role at an agency born of bank runs and the Dust Bowl and intimately involved in mortgage issues.

Home sales unexpectedly rose in December, reversing a purchase slide in November, according to new figures released by RE/MAX on Tuesday.

Citigroup repurchased 6,800 residential loans in 2011, an 80% jump from 2010 with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accounting for the lion's share of those buybacks, according to figures released Tuesday.

Private-equity groups that invested some $900 million in Florida lender BankUnited Inc. less than three years ago may now be ready to cash out.

Bank risk professionals expect delinquencies on most types of consumer loans to rise, balances on credit cards to grow and global concerns will all affect the nation's economic health, according to a FICO survey.

Commercial mortgage banker Walker & Dunlop, Bethesda, Md., funded $4 billion of new loans in 2011, a 27% gain from the year prior, according to newly reported figures.

As Bank of America and other megabanks - except Wells Fargo, of course - continue to scale back their presence in residential finance a rebirth in mid-sized firms is underway, or so we're told. One veteran investment banker we know said there are now many nonbank funders that are producing $3 billion to $5 billion a year in new product.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has joined efforts to get credit unions exempt from the mortgage recordation tax in New York, ratcheting up the fight against the state levy.

The mortgage division of Wells Fargo & Co., funded $120 billion of new home mortgages in the fourth quarter – three-times the volume of its closest competitor JPM Morgan Chase, according to figures released Tuesday morning.

One of the best ways to improve your reputation with Realtors is to add value "behind the scenes." Basically, this means that you go above and beyond getting the loan done. You find ways to help their business or make their job easier. It's even better if you give this type of value in ways that are not expected.

One of the niches where there has been some untapped demand for originations that lenders might want to consider carefully financing is the foreign national sector, according to Ken Engler, a branch manager in Naples, Fla., for Brentwood Mortgage Services.

First, some good news: We understand that 350 MetLife Home Loan staffers are about to be made an employment offer. On top of that, other offers are being made to many of MLHL's high-performance loan officers. That's good news for the rank-and-file workers that make up this industry.

Scott Stern, the founder and CEO of Lenders One, a top player in residential finance, confirmed to National Mortgage News that he will leave the organization in March.

Strict underwriting standards and tighter credit conditions for mortgages are leading more borrowers to turn to friends and family for loans to help fund home purchases. But both borrowers and lenders both can run afoul of tax, legal and other complications if these personal loans aren’t structured properly.

Builders continue to face tough sledding when it comes to obtaining loans from banks, but there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel.

Radian Guaranty has received waivers of the risk-to-capital ratio in four states of the 16 states it applied to, and has been rejected by two, the company said.

JPMorgan Chase chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon suspects a "turn" in the housing market is getting closer but a recovery may still be years away.

Fannie Mae is forecasting an additional $200-$300 billion in refinancings this year from the HARP program, but that won't be enough to offset what should be a tepid $1 trillion year in originations.