Underwriting

The mortgage industry has put more emphasis on organizing data in a digital manner and presenting it in an easily digestible format.

Freddie Mac is partnering with Finicity to give lenders access to a new automated process that advances efforts to consolidate borrower-authorized data validation checks used in the secondary market underwriting process.

While the critical defect rate for closed mortgage loans fell on a quarter-to-quarter basis, there were increases in income and packaging-related deficiencies, an Aces Risk Management study found.

A mere 7-basis-point increase in interest rates reduced what was a record-high number of borrowers with refinancing incentive by 2 million in a matter of days, according to Black Knight.

Mortgage credit availability tightened in August by the most since the end of last year, even though falling interest rates sparked a strong uptick in refinancings, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Stewart Information Services has decided to make some big changes at the top following the dissolution of a planned merger with Fidelity National Financial.

The Federal Trade Commission wants to block the merger of Fidelity National Financial and Stewart Information Services stating the deal would reduce competition for title insurance, including for large commercial real estate transactions.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization has released a dataset designed to prepare lenders for a new mortgage application and automated underwriting system upgrades at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

New Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data shows debt-to-income ratios have risen but also have been frequently cited among reasons for denials, suggesting lenders are becoming more cautious about this underwriting metric.

A year after the major credit bureaus agreed to strip tax liens and civil judgments from consumers' credit files, a new study says it is hampering lenders' credit decisions. But proponents of the move insist it was the right call.

Home equity lenders expect origination activity to remain dreary through next year even though consumers can potentially access more proceeds now than in 2006, a Mortgage Bankers Association survey found.

The second half of 2019 is a prudent time to examine the CRE market in the context of an inevitable slowdown, taking into account how the current landscape is impacting lending practices.

The race to optimize mobile capabilities for consumers is far outstripping efforts to improve the back-office experience. That imbalance carries substantial risks.

Lower interest rates that have the power to reduce house payments are triggering a surge in mortgage refinancing activity and giving real estate agents hope that more affordable rates can lift area home sales that are barely lagging behind 2018.

Mortgage companies will be charged fees to upgrade an Internal Revenue Service system they use, but will benefit from the improvement as well.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization is working with stakeholders to come up with a common means of handling new tax transcript authorization requirements in the Taxpayers First Act.

The Federal Housing Administration updated its lender certification proposal originally issued this past May, as it looks to ease industry concerns on False Claims Act enforcement.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will remove some barriers to government-insured condominium lending next month, including a post-crisis measure housing industry groups have long complained about.

Angel Oak is now offering mortgage brokers and correspondent loan sellers a prequalification tool to determine borrower eligibility for non-qualified mortgages.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has repeatedly reconsidered whether to add a language question to the GSEs' loan application, but its new director's latest call may finally resolve the question.