Mortgages

Prepayment speeds fell to 12.4% from 13.7% on a consecutive-quarter basis, according to Sterne Agee analysts, who have raised their fiscal year 2015 estimate for Home Loan Servicing Solutions.

A former head of commercial real estate at Wilmington Trust Corp. was charged with bank fraud, bribery and money laundering, the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said.

The Mortgage Insurance Companies of America’s membership had dwindled to three of the industry's eight companies.

Residential builders boost hiring in January, which could be a good sign for housing market.

The bureau wants to expand data collection to detect troublesome trends and effectiveness of QM rule.

Securitizations fuel appetite for single-family rental properties.

Hendrix Montecastro and his mother were both convicted in a $142 million scheme.

The New York regulator questioned Ocwen’s ability to handle more volume after an independent monitor reviewed the mortgage servicer’s operations, a person familiar with the situation says.

Citigroup and Assurant have agreed to pay $110 million to settle charges that it forced thousands of homeowners to purchase expensive property insurance in order to profit from kickbacks and commissions.

Acquiring the mortgage analytics vendor Interthinx would give First American more products and services to match its rival title insurer Fidelity National — and former subsidiary CoreLogic, spun off in 2010.

Housing boom-era mortgage securitizations, written off as "toxic waste" during the financial crisis, are performing better than investors once expected, thanks to the rebound in home prices.

The appraisal industry has seen many changes within the past few years, and with greater oversight and scrutiny coming from every direction—appraisers are under the microscope.

Ocwen Financial Corp.'s purchase of mortgage-servicing rights from Wells Fargo was indefinitely halted by New York's top financial regulator.

Green Tree Servicing, a unit of Walter Investment Management, is leaving the wholesale mortgage lending business.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans fell for a fifth week as stock market volatility and weaker-than-expected economic reports drove investors to the safety of the government bonds.

Job and income growth could pave the way for lenders to loosen guidelines late in the year. In the meantime, new regulations and repurchase risk are keeping the industry gun-shy.

First American Financial Corp. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Interthinx for $155 million from its parent company, Verisk Analytics.

Some advice on learning to "play well with others" in your office.

Modified loans represent a potentially volatile portfolio that could become increasingly unstable over the next several years as loan modifications begin to reset.

A Connecticut man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme that cost financial institutions millions of dollars.