Mortgages

Wells Fargo plans to give its underwriters more control in approving mortgages that it retains in its own portfolio, as the bank tries to add high-quality assets to its balance sheet.

Talk about pet peeves, sales and marketing slogans are high on my list. Companies employ a variety of sales and marketing slogans but totally disregard the intent and meaning of the phrase they use. They even go so far as to have it as a salutation on their emails and voicemail greetings.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has dismissed one of the consultants overseeing a massive foreclosure review after it discovered a conflict of interest in outside work the company has performed.

The discussion in a number of panel sessions at the Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market Conference in New York on May 6 through 9, was if, let alone when, private capital would return to the industry. In the exhibit hall, much of the vendor focus was on technology and compliance which would ease that transition. Nary a wholesaler or correspondent aggregator was exhibiting.

The National Mortgage Settlement between state attorneys general and the federal government on one side and major mortgage servicers on the other is likely to affect the way small servicers and subservicers do business.

Fannie Mae and Bank of America are involved in a major dispute over $7 billion of outstanding buyback requests with the GSE cutting back on the loans it purchases from the giant bank.

Hilltop Holdings of Dallas, a property and casualty insurer, has agreed to buy fast-growing mortgage lender PlainsCapital in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $537 million.

Having high net worth clients, a referral-based business model and low interest rates helped Eric Magee's production in 2011.

Over the past dozen years, one of the best things I’ve done on the road is to gather top industry officials around me and have a freeform, on-the-record roundtable of industry issues.

For the past year nonbank loan officers have complained they must meet state licensing requirements and pass LO tests while their bank counterparts merely need to register with the states.

HUD secretary Shaun Donovan in a conference call pushed for quick approval of a trio of legislative proposals backed by the president that are aimed at further expansion of refinancing opportunities to underwater borrowers with clean payment histories.

Donna DeMaio, most recently the president and chief executive of MetLife Bank, has joined United Guaranty Corp. as its chief operating officer.

Farmer Mac said it earned $22 million in 1Q12, an increase of nearly $4 million from the $18 million earned one year prior, in large part due to higher net interest income.

Residential home values experienced a meager 0.2% increase in February with the average sales price coming in at $195,000, according to new figures compiled by Lender Processing Services.

When the CFPB’s loan officer compensation proposal came out late Wednesday night nonbank mortgage lenders and loan brokers hit the roof. Some trade group officials thought the young agency actually understood the mortgage market, thinking it would do what is best for consumers – which brokers believe would benefit them.

Community lenders this week asked lawmakers to grant some regulatory relief, arguing the Dodd-Frank Act and other supervisory actions are pushing them to the brink of extinction.

A major shake up in the senior ranks at Arch Bay Capital has taken place with several departures from the company, according to three nonperforming loan investors that have conducted business with the firm.

Two bank-owned apartment complex assets have been sold in separate transactions by an investment sales team at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank on behalf of a purchaser and a receiver.

If the amendment were to become law, it would impact the posture of the Justice Department in any future negotiations with smaller mortgage servicers that did not participate in the recent settlement with the five largest servicers.

Lenders and investors at this week’s secondary market conference in New York were interested in a question that’s been on target for at least the past three years: Where is the nonconforming secondary market? When will it show up again? When should mortgage packagers start their engines?