Mortgages

A recent survey from staffing firm Robert Half International finds many chief financial officers believe their office environment has been successful in their Candace role of stifling worker creativity.

Lenders are relying on technology to help with good-faith estimate compliance, but some loan origination system providers may have been caught off guard when the new GFE rolled out, said an executive with one of the settlement services providers.

Single point of contact requirements for servicers aren’t just another compliance burden, they’re an opportunity for improved margins and lower loss severity, according to Craig Focardi, a senior research director at consulting firm TowerGroup.

The residential mortgage banking division of PNC Financial Services Group reported a $61 million profit for the first quarter, turning around a $61 million loss suffered in 4Q.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York Wednesday said it has started a competitive bid process for commercial real estate collateralized debt obligation holdings in the Maiden Lane III LLC portfolio.

Genworth Financial lost 20% of its market value Wednesday afternoon after it revealed accelerating losses at its Australian mortgage insurance affiliate and delayed a spin-off of that division until next year.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be more responsive to troubled homeowners seeking a short sale solution or who receive a bid from an interested buyer.

If GOP hopeful Mitt Romney has his way HUD will be killed and presumably so will the FHA program. It's election season and the candidate - hoping to appeal to conservatives - wants to stick a knife in HUD/FHA because, well, it's a cabinet level agency and cutting big government is a red meat move.

The pace of bank failures will slow considerably this year as the industry continues to recover from the real estate bust, according to the acting head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The U.S. economy is poised for moderate growth in 2012, but unlike prior recessions, the housing sector won't lead the recovery, according to Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney was overheard this week saying that if elected he might eliminate the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the popular FHA program.

New government aid programs for troubled homeowners are forcing cost-cutting lenders, especially banks, into a tricky balancing act.

New mortgage applications rose almost 7% for the week ending April 7 thanks to falling interest rates, which spiked a surge in refinancings, including HARP activity.

As vacant properties rise across the country, code compliance is an ongoing challenge within the housing industry that servicers, property preservation companies and Realtors have to battle on a daily basis.

A consensus is forming among consumer and housing groups that the 'Qualified Mortgage' rule should encompass a large chunk of conventional mortgages that are being written today.

The great Charlie "Tremendous" Jones is very well known for this quote: "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read." Because I am a voracious reader, I have always focused more on the "reading" portion of this quote.

A Federal Reserve rule has sown widespread confusion about the way lenders pay housing appraisers, creating turmoil in an industry already burdened by expensive middlemen, falling home prices and diminished ranks.

Consumers Credit Union, Kalamazoo, Mich., is introducing a program offering home buyer assistance grants of up to $7,500 for qualifying first-time buyers.

U.S. Bancorp saw its mortgage banking revenue more than double in the first quarter, originating roughly $19 billion of residential loans, according to figures released Tuesday.

Lenders often pressure title agents to reduce their fees when other items disclosed on the HUD 'Good Faith Estimate' form exceed the allowed tolerances, according to new research conducted by the American Land Title Association.