Underwriting

Credit union loan balances grew at an 11% annualized pace in June, while loan delinquency rates fell, according to the latest Credit Union Trends Report from CUNA Mutual Group.

The Federal Housing Administration has resolved a long-standing conflict with municipalities and private companies that back "green energy" loans that is expected to benefit banks and other mortgage lenders. The next question is whether the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages will do the same.

Fannie Mae is revamping its affordable mortgage program to make it easier for low- and moderate-income families to qualify for low-down-payment loans.

Loans to first-time homeowners and others with low credit scores are a big part of the Federal Housing Administration's growth in purchase mortgages since the agency cut premiums.

Homebuyers may be missing out on a wide range of programs that can help them afford their purchases — programs their agents either don't know about or don't want to bother with.

Conforming mortgage rates remained steady despite many indications that the Federal Reserve is considering bumping up short-term interest rates, according Freddie Mac.

Consumer credit default rates remained stable during the month of July, according to credit bureau Experian.

Home sales in July rose 11.3% from a year earlier, as lenders appear to be loosening access to credit, according to Re/Max.

CoreLogic has launched a new intelligence tool aimed at improving marketing segmentation and risk detection.

The share of refinancing activity as part of the origination market fell in July, according to the Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report.

Mortgage application volume grew 3.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the week prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's decisions to make their automated underwriting systems free to use will feed more data to the GSEs, but do little to better serve lenders and borrowers.

The Federal Housing Administration's Neighborhood Watch website is back online after crashing about three weeks ago.

By effectively using technology to gather and verify big data, lenders can underwrite with greater precision, improve loan-level decision making and maximize the integrity of their mortgage portfolios.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have a regulatory mandate to shrink. But that's easier said than done, given the GSEs' outsized presence in the mortgage industry, as their latest quarterly results show.

As the Small Business Administration's flagship 7(a) loan program breaks records, its other loan program stagnates. Advocates for so-called 504 loans hope a drive to permit CRE refinancing will inject new life.

Neighborhood Watch, the Federal Housing Administration's "early warning system" for monitoring mortgage defaults and lender performance, crashed more than two weeks ago and it's unclear when the service will be restored.

Just 8% of U.S. mortgage origination volume in the second quarter went to borrowers with subprime credit scores, according to new research by the New York Fed. The findings suggest that mortgage standards have loosened only slightly, if at all.

Jones Lang LaSalle in Chicago has agreed to acquire Oak Grove Commercial Mortgage, to expand its debt-finance offerings.

Refinance application volume for the week ended Aug. 7 reached its highest level since the end of May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.