Mortgages

There is a good chance legislation that would provide regulatory relief to small banks and address concerns about which banks are dubbed systemically important could be wrapped in the same Senate bill next year, experts said at National Mortgage News's 4th Annual Regulatory Symposium.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaint database is an excellent source of information to help lenders make adjustments and refine their operations.

To move quality control earlier into the origination process, lenders should rely on automated data checks

The closing rate for mortgage originations climbed to a three-year high in August, according to data released by Ellie Mae.

The U.S. Attorney General seeks to lift a cap on whistleblower incentives that encourage a practice increasingly used in mortgage-based claims even as another U.S. official presses for more lending.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remains committed to working with the financial services industry to improve the mortgage closing experience for consumers through the use of technology, CFPB director Richard Cordray said.

Purchases of previously owned homes unexpectedly declined in August for the first time in five months as investors retreated from the market.

The commitment by the two housing giants marks a win for upstart VantageScore Solutions in its quest to compete against industry leader Fair Isaac Corp. However, the outcome of the review is uncertain, and Fannie warned that the costs of adopting new credit scores might prove to be "substantial" for lenders and others.

The loosening of mortgage credit "hasn't been as significant as some have reported," and first-time buyers remain scarce, complains Stuart Miller of homebuilder Lennar.

All the mistakes and errors in a loan file should be dealt with prior to the mortgage funding.

A regulatory mechanism designed to support unsolicited ratings includes obligations that complicate its use. Post-crisis single-family securitization sectors like the new rental market are instead drawing "unsolicited comments."

Nonagency mortgage securitization has fallen well short of forecasts this year, as commercial banks bid up for loans to put on their balance sheets. But the fourth quarter could offer this moribund market a chance at redemption.

Home values in the United States rose more slowly in August on a monthly basis than they have in a year, according to Zillow.

Home loans to lower-income Americans are dwindling as Washington regulators and major banks continue to haggle over who pays when riskier mortgages go bad.

The pricing of the class-A notes paralleled that seen in a recent first-time issuer's single-family rental securitization in August, but the pricing for the rest of the capital structure differed.

Hope LoanPort has partnered with technology provider IndiSoft to launch the National Homeownership Solutions Platform.

Mortgage insurers agree that the FHFA's capital-retention proposal would offer more clarity than the existing regulatory framework, but they share concerns about the treatment of single-premium policies, risk requirements and other details.

Essent Guaranty in Radnor, Pa., is now an approved insurer of mortgage loans sold to Federal Home Loan Banks.

At least two mortgage servicers say they are close to being released from an OCC enforcement order that required 14 of the nation’s largest bank servicers to fix flaws in their foreclosure reviews. But the OCC says it has set no timetable for freeing any of the banks from the 2011 order.

Trulia, a San Francisco-based online marketplace, is offering mortgage lenders and agents the ability to coordinate their marketing efforts with real estate agents.