Underwriting

Mortgage rates dipped for the second consecutive week although 10-year Treasury yields started to rise again, according to Freddie Mac.

With its acquisition of artificial intelligence and machine learning developer HeavyWater, Black Knight is turning to its Artificial Intelligence Virtual Assistant to streamline the mortgage process, with an immediate focus on the originations sector.

Fannie Mae is lowering down payment requirements and lender fees on manufactured housing loans to improve affordable housing access.

Since its inception, the qualified mortgage rule has been synonymous with loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or guaranteed by government agencies. But a broader QM definition could change that by creating more competitive private-label options.

Black Knight has acquired HeavyWater, a developer of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology for the mortgage industry, and plans to incorporate the startup's borrower data verification and other automation capabilities into its existing product suite.

Anticipated changes to the qualified mortgage rule will give lenders more options and force them to rethink their views on risk.

Commercial mortgage bonds are getting stuffed with the lowest-quality loans since the financial crisis by one measure, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Movement Mortgage is laying off 100 employees nationwide as the lender founded by a former Carolina Panthers player braces for an industry slowdown.

Overcapacity in the mortgage industry led to more competitive pricing in the first quarter, said Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan.

The value of commercial-property deals rose 6.7% in the first quarter from a year earlier, but higher interest rates and softer demand will weigh on the market, Ten-X Commercial said.

The ability-to-repay standard is responsible for the reduction in loan application defects over the past four-plus years, according to First American Financial.

Although mortgage default risk remains very low, it was the only category of consumer lending to experience increases both sequentially and year-to-year in VantageScore's latest update to its index.

Mortgage rates continued their climb this week, jumping 5 basis points to their highest level since May 2011, according to Freddie Mac.

Government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in a race to offer services and technology that help mortgage bankers raise cash from mortgage servicing rights.

The Ginnie Mae 2020 report coming out this summer will reveal the path the agency is taking toward working with digital mortgages, an agency executive said at an industry conference.

JPMorgan Chase has largely sat on the sidelines of Federal Housing Administration lending due to compliance concerns. But recent regulatory relief efforts have Chase Home Mortgage CEO Mike Weinbach eyeing an opportunity to jump back in.

Mortgage rates have reversed course and reached a new high last seen seven years ago as the yield on the 10-year Treasury crossed the 3% threshold this week, according to Freddie Mac.

After originating more than $1 billion in loans outside the ability-to-repay rule's Qualified Mortgage safe harbor last year, Angel Oak is planning to originate at least twice that in 2018.

Mortgage rates were unchanged over the past week, but appear to be headed higher with a robust summer home sales season expected, according to Freddie Mac.

Mortgage credit availability was unchanged in April, as originators tightened their government lending programs but made more jumbo offerings available.