Mortgages

Platinum Data Solutions has upgraded its appraisal quality technology platform, RealView, by adding Platinum Comps, which enables underwriters to evaluate whether comparable homes not used in an appraisal report validate a subject property's actual appraised value.

President Obama announced an initiative Tuesday with several large banks and mortgage servicers designed to make it easier for members of the military and their families to lower their mortgage payments.

Essent Group Ltd., the mortgage-insurer backed by George Soros and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is beating older rivals in the stock market as the U.S. plans to tighten regulation of the industry.

Many active-duty service members are unaware that they are eligible to postpone mortgage payments under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. A group of major financial services companies have pledged to improve communication about this option, according to the Financial Services Roundtable's Tim Pawlenty and John Dalton.

It is clear that the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has made the mortgage industry a top priority and its supervised entities have had to fall in line with its expansive rules and regulations quickly.

Mortgage bankers reported a sharp increase in quarterly profits at the end of June, according to data released Tuesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Many banks are aggressively closing branches to cut costs. Those banks must be mindful about branches in moderate- and low-income neighborhoods or risk downgrades after their next Community Reinvestment Act examination.

Despite overall foreclosure inventory falling in July, foreclosure starts were up for the third consecutive month, according to a "first look" report from Black Knight Financial Services.

New rules are illuminating a once-shadowy market where servicers can be quick to modify loans and may have few qualms about principal reduction. Discounts or equity make such flexibility possible.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae all overlooked warning signs about Taylor, Bean & Whitaker that make them partly to blame for the mortgage lender's multibillion fraud scheme, according to a government watchdog report.

Investors are moving their focus into California's less expensive, more rural areas, according to a California Association of Realtors survey.

A drop in homeownership among the native-born population, coupled with a pickup in the pace of homeownership gains among those who immigrated to the U.S. have narrowed the homeownership gap between the two demographics during the last decade, according to Fannie Mae research.

Altisource, a mortgage data company in Luxembourg, has opened a new technology campus in Bangalore, India.

Sen. Sherrod Brown may give the country's biggest banks heartburn, but there are signs he's positioning himself as an industry ally ahead of a potential bid to run the Banking Committee.

Home prices increased in June, even as appreciation slowed, according to a report released Monday from Black Knight.

Freddie Mac expects housing demand and supply to increase through next year as the economy gradually returns to normalcy.

Technologies that bridge the gap between originators and real estate agents are designed to improve communication and lead management, which is crucial when loan officers are competing for referrals from top agents in a purchase-driven market.

Mortgage Contracting Services, a property inspection and maintenance company in Plano, Texas, has named Bart Vincent as its chief financial officer.

National Mortgage News has won a second editorial award this year, as the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority has given its Media Partner award to Editor at Large Mark Fogarty for his coverage of affordable housing.

The latest action against an auto lender underscores the CFPB's expectation that lenders will affirmatively act to protect customers throughout and after the consumption of the transaction.