Originations

As regulations reshape the reverse mortgage, lenders hope to end up with a safer, more reputable product. Meantime, the changes are turning the economics of this business on its head.

The city of Providence, R.I., has sued Santander Bank alleging that bank violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to make prime mortgage loans available in minority communities.

Fannie Mae's short sale portal has been updated with new features for real estate agents.

Contracts to purchase previously owned homes rose for a second month in April, a sign the residential real estate market is stabilizing after a weak start to the year.

Cleveland's Third Federal Savings and Loan is adding three states to its growing national home lending presence.

Mortgage rates fell for a fifth week, reducing borrowing costs as home-price gains slow.

One of the most difficult conversions for lenders to accomplish is turning a past customer into a future customer.

The head of a California mortgage lender who perpetrated a $5.3 million mortgage fraud scheme against Ally Financial will serve more than four years in prison.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined RealtySouth, Alabama’s largest real estate firm, $500,000 for allegedly steering consumers to an affiliated title services company.

Much has been made of how Basel III requirements have dulled banks' appetite for mortgage servicing rights, but a handful of institutions are buying within regulatory limits.

Ellie Mae, the mortgage technology vendor, has hired 20-year industry veteran Harry Gardner as vice president of electronic strategies.

United Bank of Glastonbury, Conn., has hired three experienced former Bank of America mortgage bankers in West Springfield, Mass.

Retail single-family mortgage originations by banks and thrifts fell in the first quarter to the lowest point in six years while profits from their mortgage businesses dropped to 2011 levels.

Toll Brothers reported fiscal second-quarter profit that more than doubled as the company increased prices and delivered more properties.

Mortgage applications dipped slightly for the week ending May 23 compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Declines in mortgage-related revenue and trading income helped pull first-quarter earnings down 7.6% from the industry's profit a year earlier, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.

The Swiss bank, which caters to high-net-worth ($1 million to $10 million in assets) and ultra-high-net-worth (over $10 million) U.S. clients, sees mortgage lending as a key area for expansion.

A battle over social media about how well the current housing finance system treats African-Americans and other minorities has spurred a critical discussion about racial disparities in the mortgage market.

It could take quarters or years. It may require fatter yields to entice investors, or move-up homebuyers in need of jumbo loans. This much is agreed upon: Nobody really knows.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week quietly issued over $70 million in fines to entities which have been through private settlements without specifying why. Here are some likely causes.