Originations

Special assessment and tax-increment financing bonds from regions prone to property bubbles and busts are most vulnerable to the continuing weakness of the commercial real estate market, according to a Fitch Ratings report released Tuesday.

Low rates are attracting both purchase and refinance applications as both components in this week's Mortgage Bankers Association Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage application activity, have increased over the previous week.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, a publicly traded vulture fund formed by former Countrywide president Stan Kurland, earned $8.2 million in the second quarter, almost six-times its profit in the prior period.

The increase in delinquencies on commercial mortgage-backed securities has slowed over the past two months with some analysts hoping the worst might be over for the sector.

The National Association of Realtors' gauge of future home sales drifted lower in June after a 30% plunge in May just after the federal tax credit expired for first-time and move up buyers.

Radian Group Inc. lost $475 million during the second quarter as it took a pre-tax loss of $525 million on the fair value of derivatives. The loss resulted from an improved market perception of Radian's credit risk that resulted in a tightening of Radian's credit spread and the widening of general corporate credit spreads.

First American Financial Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., had net income of $34 million in the second quarter. One year prior, the company had net income of $29 million.

Residential Capital Corp. and its mortgage related affiliates earned $230 million in the second quarter, compared to a year ago loss of $1.3 billion.

PHH Corp., which controls the nation's seventh largest residential lender, earned $28 million in the second quarter, almost double what it earned in the same period a year ago.

A recommendation made by a number of contributors to our publications (both online and print) is for mortgage originators to seek out the services of a business coach.

WASHINGTON-The odds may be against them, but mortgage industry groups are staging a major push to pass a standalone Federal Housing Administration reform bill before the Senate adjourns Aug. 7 for a month-long recess.

Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Albany, has appealed its challenge of the state's mortgage transfer tax - rejected by the lower court - arguing the federal credit union charter exempts it from all state taxes.

Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner wants federal regulators to move quickly in formulating new underwriting standards and disclosures for mortgages mandated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The Federal Housing Administration said Monday that it has just $3.5 billion in cash and Treasury securities left in its 'capital reserve account' after transferring $9.8 billion to another account to cover possible losses on its loan portfolio.

HSBC Holdings said it plans to start "gently growing" its U.S. consumer finance business again, despite a quarter-on-quarter drop in profitability at the unit as the U.S. economy slowed.

A small private-label 'scratch and dent' securitization backed by government reverse mortgages appears to be the first deal of this type, and could pave the way for more reverse MBS deals in the struggling private-label market.

The BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico could reduce home values in the immediate region by as much as $3 billion over the next five years, according to a new report from CoreLogic.

The nation's mortgage insurance companies issued 65,792 notices of default in June, compared to 60,337 cures, ending a four-month streak where NODs lagged.

Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, indicated in no uncertain terms at the recent SourceMedia Loss Mitigation Conference that the rules will be changing in the case of the government-sponsored enterprises and affordable housing.

The state of the U.S. banking system has "improved significantly" since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2008, but lending standards remain too tight, according to Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke.