Mortgages

With profit margins on harp 2.0 refinancings sky high, Wells Fargo & Co. has been putting caps on the loan-to-value ratio it will accept from third-party lenders.

Wells Fargo & Co. on Friday reiterated its plans to slash costs over the next year -- but executives gave themselves new wiggle room to rethink those cuts later.

Mortgage lenders issued $29.2 billion of GNMA MBS in March, up 5% from the prior month as securitizations of jumbo and multifamily loans surged, according to new figures released by the government.

A rose by any other name may smell as sweet. But would the Highlands of Olney development sell as well if it were peddled as "K2"? Probably not. And therein lies the reason most builders believe naming their subdivisions ranks right up there in importance with quality construction. They also find the chore to be a traumatic event that one builder once compared to "trying to name your firstborn"

The 'qualified mortgage' rule that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is working on is expected to limit the kind of mortgages that lenders can make – but may also curb the size of the loans they originate as well.

The foreclosure crisis is loosening the traditionally strong tie homeowners have with their homes. New findings from FICO's latest quarterly survey of bank risk professionals indicate one way the slow recovery will affect distressed homeowners in 2012 is increased propensity for "strategic default."

When the topic is principal reduction the glass is either half full or half empty. Yet, if mounting pressure on government sponsored enterprises and their conservator results in a green light to writedowns on GSE loans as everyone expects, such a solution will also require the approval and financial support of the department of treasury.

Over the past two months National Mortgage News has been reporting on a mysterious warehouse lender called eWarehouseOne. Late this week we learned that Anthony J. Simich, a division vice president for the firm - and one of few employees there who actually returns phone calls and emails - resigned.

Looking at the continuing foreclosure crisis, with a couple of million resolutions done, a couple million more to do, and more than a million units of shadow inventory waiting in the wings, one is reminded of Winston Churchill's pronouncement during World War II that while it might not yet be the beginning of the end, at least it is the end of the beginning.

Political pressure backed with money can be very persuasive in Washington and it may provide relief for some underwater borrowers with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.

Rock-bottom home loan rates persisted through the first quarter, goosing origination volume and setting banks up to post another round of strong mortgage banking results.

The correspondent lending division of GMAC Bank on Friday told its mortgage banking clients that it will "significantly" curtail government lending tied to FHA, VA and USDA, according to a memo provided to National Mortgage News.

Wells Fargo & Co. rolled out its HARP 2.0 program in the middle of the first quarter and GSE refinancings are just now starting to roll in, company executives said Friday morning.

Commercial mortgage banker Walker & Dunlop, Bethesda, Md., has hired three new producers in its capital markets group.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reclassified $1.6 billion of mortgages as nonperforming loans at the urging of regulators - even though the loans are still in good shape, executives said Friday.

One of the easiest ways to get my attention is to follow me on Twitter and shoot me a message. I'm @mortgagenewz.

The headline sounds crazy. Loan brokers are on their backs, right? Well, not necessarily. If you've been reading the coverage in National Mortgage News and Origination News you know that wholesale (broker) lending as a percentage of the overall business has been rising - not by much but at least it's going in a positive direction (11% market share at last check.)

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Mortgage Technology is pleased to begin accepting nominations for the 2012 Top 50 Service Providers.

Wells Fargo & Co. reported strong earnings from its mortgage banking operation in the first quarter with residential originations more than doubling from a year ago and non-interest income climbing 42%.