Originations

In two years mortgage banking firms will need a minimum net worth of $2.5 million to be GSE seller/servicers, a mandate this is beginning to drive merger and acquisition activity.

A new report, "Paying More for The American Dream V," by a group of nonprofit housing advocacy organizations, finds evidence that banks may be engaging in redlining on refinance loans in communities of color.

Discover Financial Services is buying the assets of Tree.com Inc.'s mortgage origination subsidiary, Home Loan Center, for $55.9 million.

Two members of the House Financial Services Committee late Thursday introduced GSE reform legislation that would create new entities to issue government-guaranteed MBS.

The percentage of Californians who could afford to purchase a median-priced single-family home in the state rose to 53% in the first quarter, up from 50% in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the California Association of Realtors.

Fewer Americans believe that borrowers who are not making their monthly mortgage payments are strategic defaulters, the most recent Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index survey found.

All average mortgage rates tracked by Freddie Mac in its weekly primary market survey continued to drop, setting record lows for the year.

Radian Guaranty Inc.'s primary delinquent loan inventory decreased by 1,876 loans in April, but the number of new delinquencies outpaced the number of cures reported by 1,244 loans.

As the debate begins to unfold concerning the future of housing finance, panelists at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Secondary Market Conference were unanimous in their endorsement of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

Social networking sites have opened a whole new range of opportunities for ethical problems on the job. Inappropriate comments and disclosures are just a few easy keystrokes away and employees have become desensitized to the visibility, 'searchability' and longevity of their online words and images.

In its first earnings report as a publicly traded company, mortgage software provider Ellie Mae posted a net loss of $800,000 for the first quarter of 2011.

The primary units that private equity group TPG Capital acquired from MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates will be grouped together and run under the brand name DataQuick.

Walker & Dunlop Inc., a commercial mortgage banker, has formed an alliance with commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield that will focus on providing their clients multifamily financing (through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Agency) and investment sales services.

NewDay Financial will provide financial support to Purple Heart Homes, a veteran-operated nonprofit that provides renovations to homes of veterans with service-related disabilities to ensure that properties are safe, comfortable and handicap-accessible.

Driven by the continuing drop in mortgage rates, application volume increased 8.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 6. But the number of refinance applications submitted is still well below levels seen last fall, according to figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

When Noel Watts, the vice president of mortgage banking at Marshall & Ilsley Bank, set out to upgrade the lender's origination platform two years ago, he expected interest rates to rise and mortgage volume to plummet.

Subprime credit default swap prices swung upward for the sixth straight month in April, making it the longest sustained rally of this type seen since 2007 -- and it may continue, according to Fitch Solutions.

The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index fell by 0.3% between the third and fourth quarters of 2010 as senior's home equity levels fell by $11 billion during the period.

U.S. home prices fell 1.5% in March after declining 2.1% in February, according to the newly released CoreLogic house price index, which includes foreclosure and short sales.

Judging from the audience's response at a special session on mortgage credit during the National Association of Realtors' Midyear Legislative Meetings in Washington, appraisals are still a big issue for front-line realty agents.