Originations

The Massachusetts Department of Banking told a credit union-owned mortgage lender in a new legal opinion that its mortgage officers must obtain state licenses under the SAFE Act.

The Federal Reserve’s recent sales of Maiden Lane II assets culled from AIG continue to influence broader structured products markets and subprime mortgage assets, according to a new report from Interactive Data.

Only two million or so households have enough equity in their homes and high enough credit ratings to be viable candidates for home equity lending, according to an analysis by strategists at Lender Processing Services. But within that "sweet spot" lie a number of opportunities for lenders who dare to be creative, they said at CBA Live 2011.

If there’s one issue in all of finance that sorely needs some sorting out, it’s mortgage regulation and compliance. Dodd-Frank, TILA-RESPA reform, risk retention, servicing agreements and consent orders, qualified residential mortgages, Basel III, there are seemingly dozens of new laws and regulations mortgage lenders must comply with.

The Department of Justice has more than a dozen open investigations into violations of the nation's fair lending laws -- probes that could lead to charges against mortgage firms if investigators find a pattern of abuse, according to a key department official.

St. Mary's Bank, Manchester, N.H., has pledged to make $2.5 million in new funds available for low-income Home Loan Payment Relief, or HLPR, mortgages, the subprime mortgage program developed by the Credit Union National Administration.

FEMA administrator Craig Fugate is urging Congress to act on a multi-year extension of the National Flood Insurance Program to create more stability in the housing market.

Nearly 95% of all the refinancings funded by Freddie Mac in the first quarter were into a fixed-rate loan product, according to the company’s Quarterly Product Transition Report. The study only covers loans where Freddie Mac funded the original mortgage.

Low interest rates and consumers’ “flight to safety” is what Shimmy Braun attributes his success to for 2010. Braun, who works at Guaranteed Rate, Chicago, was No. 2 in the Origination News survey by dollar volume at $225 million and No. 3 by number of units originated with 722.

WASHINGTON—The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s initiative to revamp the good-faith estimate has gotten off to a good start with the release of two prototype disclosures.

Radian Guaranty Inc., Philadelphia, reported an increase of just over 8% in the number of new notices of delinquency between April and May, while the number of cures fell 13%.

Grubb & Ellis Co., Santa Ana, Calif., is selling its 51% stake in Alesco Global Advisors, a real estate investment fund business, to Lazard Asset Management LLC. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Ally Financial Inc., the bank holding company that controls the nation’s fifth largest residential lender, has delayed – for now – its initial public offering, according to industry advisors who do business with the company.

I would first like to review FHA’s key tenets and current performance. FHA, at its core, is an insurance program. And like any successful insurance program, it needs to spread its risk.

For the third straight month, delinquencies for commercial mortgage-backed securities experienced minimal changes, according to Fitch Ratings.

Isn't social media cool? Since I graduated college in 1992, I've been involved with two of the biggest fundamental shifts in communications in our history, mobile phones and social media.

MB Financial Inc. in Chicago is marketing $400 million of troubled commercial real estate and construction loans, and has hired JBS & Associates of Chicago to solicit bidders.

A Texas mortgage broker, Rodney Anderson, has single-handedly pushed for legislation that requires medical bills of $2,500 or less to be expunged from credit reports if the debts have been paid or settled.

Earlier this year the Federal Reserve installed new regulations governing how loan brokers can be compensated – and the results are in: the broker/wholesale market share fell to 6.9% in the first quarter, the lowest reading ever recorded by National Mortgage News and its affiliate, the Quarterly Data Report.

A three-year supply of condominium apartments remain unsold in the overbuilt South Florida market. And that's not counting units that lie west of Interstate 95 or the thousands of condo units owned by investors.