Mortgages

Optimism from Trepp analysts that commercial MBS delinquency rates might improve in the second half of 2012 did not occur in July as expected.

In expanding its note sale pilot program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is imposing new certification requirements on servicers that are willing to assign defaulted FHA loans for the upcoming sales.

Roughly 2.7 million California households – homeowners and renters – pay at least half their income for housing.

The never-ending economic lethargy is sending more borrowers into default, plaguing the bottom lines at institutions such as First Financial Bankshares, S.Y. Bancorp and Southwest Bancorp.

Late last week we blogged about how certain wholesalers are telling their loan brokers to take a number when it comes to getting approvals (and processing) on purchase money mortgages. We heard from a handful of brokers who said their wholesalers were different and from a few wholesalers who said they can move things along quickly.

Bank of America is ready to hit the market with a $100 million package of residential servicing rights backed mostly by nonperforming loans guaranteed by Freddie Mac.

I recently chaired a successful webinar on CFPB examinations. So successful in fact we will be doing another regulatory compliance webinar on Sept. 27.

Out of the 92 actions filed by Pennsylvania's Bureau of Compliance, 90 orders were against companies for statutory violations, resulting in fines of $277,525.

Regulators in Georgia closed the $217-million-asset Jasper Banking, which became the industry's 39th bank to fail this year.

Ocwen Financial—an avowed nonblank—is in the envious position of being among the nation’s fastest-growing specialty servicers with a niche in processing problem loans that no other company will touch.

According to bank earnings reports of the past few weeks, residential fundings are on a tear—with the anticipation that application volumes will continue to hold steady or increase.

Reading the tea leaves of Jamie Dimon's periodic executive shakeups can be a tricky business, but on Friday Matt Zames became one of the stronger shapes to emerge from JPMorgan Chase's latest shuffle.

Chicago is the latest city to pass a resolution to hold hearings on whether to use eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages from private investors.

If the CFPB makes brokering impossible, how many brokerage shops can afford to convert into a mortgage banking firm? The capital requirement is currently $2.5 million, while rumors persist that it may be hiked to $3.5 million over the next few years. The net worth requirement is set by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and GNMA/FHA…

Gateway Mortgage Group, is looking to move into new markets by creating strategic partnerships with homebuilders and Realtors. It is also looking to expand on a traditional retail basis into Florida. And it has hired David Robinson to oversee both prongs.

In total, more than $10 million in fraudulent mortgages on more than 40 properties were obtained during the conspiracy.

Gordon Smith, who was just named co-CEO of consumer and community banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co., will assume responsibility for the megabank’s mortgage banking operations in early 2013.

Several large and regional banks have disclosed what their capital ratios would look like if Basel III were in effect now and early results show that First Horizon National, Huntington Bancshares, SunTrust Banks and TCF Financial would take the biggest capital hits if they do not take steps to change their asset mix.

Distressed homeowners have received only 10% of nearly $46 billion in federal aid since the money was allocated in 2009 under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

We’ve been hearing complaints lately from loan brokers that some of their wholesalers have been telling them to “take a number” and wait if they bring a purchase-money mortgage to the underwriting window.