Mortgages

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors named Robert Niemi the new ombudsman of the National Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.

Loan modifications continued their dominance as the primary method for foreclosure prevention in 2013, both through government-driven and proprietary servicer programs.

Many conversations in the loan process start with this often uttered, never welcome phrase: "I am going to need an explanation…" If you were on the receiving end of that message, how would that make you feel?

Contracts to purchase previously owned homes rose less than forecast in January, adding to signs housing was weakening in early 2014.

Government mortgage programs for this country's more than six million Native people are accelerating home loan credit access to this underserved group of people. But seemingly intractable housing problems endure.

First Horizon National has reached an agreement with Freddie Mac related to home loans originated and sold to the government-sponsored entity between 2000 and 2008.

The National Fair Housing Alliance is accelerating efforts to force mortgage lenders, servicers and trustees to do a better job of maintaining foreclosed properties in minority neighborhoods.

Real estate mortgage investment conduit rules generally discourage non-distressed securitized loan sales, but SN Servicing says it had reasons to sell some at a loss in this 2002 scratch-and-dent deal.

Also, loan officer compensation trial victory for Prospect Mortgage and employment contract news.

Business contingency plans kept originators and vendors humming along at almost normal during the January and February blizzards.

Wells Fargo, the nation's largest mortgage lender, plans to eliminate 700 more jobs as fewer borrowers are looking to refinance their mortgage loans.

Mortgages secured by multi-unit properties pose a higher fraud risk than all other property types, the antifraud technology vendor Interthinx says in its latest quarterly report.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans climbed for a third week, increasing borrowing costs as harsh weather contributes to slowing demand for homes.

Freddie Mac will return $10.4 billion in profits to the Treasury Department next month, bringing total payments to about $10 billion above what it got in aid under conservatorship.

Due to the roll-out of new regulations and recent supervision reports, servicers are facing more regulatory challenges than at any time in recent memory.

The second-largest home lender's warning that it will lose money in the business this year is a forceful reminder that the housing market has not fully recovered from the downturn.

Poorly executed rebranding efforts (especially when switching marketing efforts to purchases from refinancings) can damage your company and put its future in question.

Mortgage Network in Danvers, Mass., has opened its first office in neighboring Rhode Island.

A "tangled web of conflicts could create incentives that harm borrowers and push homeowners unduly into foreclosure," Benjamin Lawsky warns.

Bank of America Corp. disclosed new probes into its mortgage and foreign-exchange businesses and boosted an estimate of potential legal losses by 20% to $6 billion.