Originations

Bank of America's share price climbed to just over $6.50 Tuesday, a sign that investors somewhere are bottom feeding on this once proud banking franchise, one that shot itself in the foot (or is it head?) when it bought Countrywide Financial Corp. in 2008.

Many mortgage industry observers believe the HARP 2.0 program will contribute greatly to loan origination volumes in 2012. The question for many originators is where do we find consumers who are eligible for the program under the expanded criteria?

Federal Housing Administration loans once served a broad spectrum of borrowers until the subprime mortgage meltdown came along and pushed lenders to tighten underwriting standards and credit score requirements.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau needs to more clearly interpret regulations such as the loan officer compensation rule, according to executives participating in a roundtable discussion at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers' recent NAMB/West show.

Wipro Gallagher Solutions has redefined its fulfillment offerings to meet the demands of loan originators and servicers for middle and top-tier lenders.

Housing sales in the Lake Tahoe area held steady last year, notching a 1% increase in the number of units sold, according to local real estate company Chase International. But they were much stronger in the outlying towns of Truckee, Reno and Sparks.

Freddie Mac is providing up to one year of forbearance for unemployed borrowers to pay their mortgage.

When foreclosure and short sales are excluded from the CoreLogic home price index, it shows that values declined just 0.6% over the 12 months ending November 30.

Investors holding at least $800 million of secured bonds in Residential Capital Corp. have organized in the event the mortgage firm's parent company, Ally Financial, throws the company into bankruptcy.

New York Fed President William Dudley stressed the need to take forceful action to aid the real estate market, which has been a drag on the economy, but stopped short of offering a silver bullet solution, in a speech before the New Jersey Bankers Association Friday.

After months of waiting as their counterparts began examining banks, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's nonbank supervision team began the enormous task Thursday of overseeing the rest of the consumer financial sector.

Perfect Circle Credit Union in Richmond, Ind. is piloting a different method of disposing of the REO houses it obtains in foreclosure, by fixing them up, furnishing them and making them available in a rent-to-own sale.

There is great value in following up with borrowers and Realtors to find out how they felt about their experience with you and your company. Knowing what you have done right and getting the opportunity to fix what may have gone wrong is priceless.

Advocates for Consumer Affairs, a compliance and risk management firm that audits mortgage loans nationwide, said it plans to concentrate their efforts to make sure homeowners receive loans that are enforceable from financial institutions.

Many community banks are looking to residential mortgage lending as one of the ways to increase their profit margins in the era of Dodd-Frank, notes a compliance expert at a banking industry technology provider.

The battle over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is moving from Congress to the courts.

A condo apartment in the Blue Diamond development on Miami Beach sold for $2.248 million last year. And it was a short-sale!

My inbox was slammed by emails from readers who said "right on" to my commentary that the White House is (wrongly) using mortgage brokers as a whipping boy for the mortgage crisis. But some larger questions still loom: Does this White House even know what a loan broker is? I would guess not.

Current management of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conservatorships is contributing to tight mortgage credit conditions, holding back a recovery in the housing market, according to a Federal Reserve Board official.

The rental market is heading south, especially in Florida. And that's a good thing.