Mortgages

MetLife, the insurer seeking an exit from banking to limit U.S. regulation, was penalized $3.2 million by the Federal Reserve for lapses tied to the servicing of loans and handling of foreclosures.

The CoreLogic house price index rose for the fourth consecutive month in June and the vendor’s chief executive expects prices will remain positive during the second-half of this year.

Based on his public comments, DeMarco is not unsympathetic to the plight of underwater (but current) borrowers but there is no doubt in his mind that the adoption of a principal reduction program would spur a massive wave of strategic defaults by GSE mortgagors.

SunTrust Bank, one of the largest mortgage lenders in the U.S., is looking for a new executive to manage retail production after the departure of Martha Simmons Scott.

The latest monthly prepayment numbers bear out expectations that refinancing sparked by recent record-low rates has some legs, but they also show that the HARP response is leveling off and the reaction to FHA MIP reductions has been muted, according to Credit Suisse.

These hirings are a precursor to a move into third party origination channels, company executives said.

The second quarter report shows nearly 38,400 Freddie loans ($8.1 billion) with LTVs above 125% were refinanced during the first-half thanks to the HARP 2.0 changes.

But rest assured, the CFPB will get around to auditing just about every nonbank lender of any decent size.

Tree.com Inc. had net income of over $27 million in the second quarter, driven largely by the $26 million gain recorded on the sale of Home Loan Center Inc. to Discover.

LenderLive Network has been selected to become a mortgage servicer for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The web portal will provide homeowners with information that helps them make knowledgeable decisions about what foreclosure alternative options are available to pursue.

Technology at home is about wants, while technology at work should be about needs—business needs.

Florida regulators are investigating the force-placed insurance industry, the state's insurance commissioner says.

A new survey by Ernst & Young has found representatives of more than two dozen major building operations to be the most optimistic they’ve been in years.

The government controlled Freddie Mac posted solid earnings of $1.1 billion in the second quarter – after paying the U.S. Treasury Department $1.8 billion in dividends on the preferred stock it owns.

Fortress Investment Group, which controls a large chunk of Nationstar Mortgage, has launched a $500 million private equity fund with a stated goal of buying mortgage servicing rights.

Low-income community revitalization has always been one of the most challenging jobs in housing finance. Both investors and individual buyers are hard to come by these days when cost is an issue for sellers as much as it is for buyers.

A large majority of banks participating in the Home Affordable Refinancing Program have restricted their refis to mortgages they already service or own, according to a July survey of senior loan officers by the Federal Reserve.

Appraisers may have started to change their business practices one at a time probably only a few years ago, but their strategy shift and where they are headed already has started to become clear.

Valued Veterans, an appraisal management company, seeks to train military veterans as real estate appraisers.