Mortgages

The government's effort to streamline its refinancing program for mortgage borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth will amount to a wealth transfer from investors. But which investors? And how much of a transfer?

The Supreme Court said Monday it will take up a case to decide whether an individual may allege discrimination under the Fair Housing Act based solely on the impact of a policy, rather than the intent.

The Prestwick Mortgage Group is selling a $406 million package of GNMA mortgage servicing rights for an undisclosed mortgage banking firm.

Although the chances are slim, the conforming loan limit in a few high-cost housing markets could rise on January 1.

Over the past three months U.S. banks have not relaxed their credit standards on new single-family and commercial real estate loans, according to a new survey of senior loan officers released by the Federal Reserve.

Data indicate the current volatility in commercial real estate prices and loan traffic in and out of delinquency will continue to keep billions in securitized CRE loans under the auspices of special servicers.

Foreclosure start rates on securitized, severely delinquent residential mortgage loans increased to over 10% a month and closer to historical averages, according to the latest RMBS Performance Metrics report from Fitch Ratings.

Lack of sufficient data to the context of the current mortgage market as well as the continuing lack of certainty when it comes to government oversight and involvement in housing finance are preventing it from moving forward, speakers at a recent SIFMA event said.

Product and pricing engine vendor LoanSifter is the latest technology provider to feed mortgage rates and borrower lead data back and forth across Google Comparison Ads for lenders that advertise on the mortgage rate search platform.

The Obama administration seized on a rare case of bipartisan consensus Thursday — the need for strong consumer protections for members of the military — to pressure Senate Republicans to confirm Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A vacant, hurricane-damaged residential tower in New Orleans will be rehabilitated with proceeds from Wednesday's negotiated sale of $7.4 million of multifamily revenue bonds issued by Louisiana Housing Finance Agency.

Trenton Police FCU has signed a deal with Residential Home Funding Corp. to provide it with mortgage banking services.

Worried that the latest federal efforts to ease foreclosures will fall short, some bankers and community advocates want Washington to offer even more ways to keep borrowers in their homes.

Electronic trading platform for U.S. and European fixed-income bonds MarketAxess Holdings just added non-agency RMBS and CMBS to its e-trading platform.

American Securitization Forum Executive Director Tom Deutsch testified Thursday before the capital markets subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee.

FBR Capital Markets late Friday said it has halted coverage of The PMI Group, Walnut Creek, Calif., the nation's second largest MI firm.

LOS ANGELES—Bank of America is working “very hard” on a short sale-to-lease program for distressed borrowers who don't qualify for government-backed refinance programs.

Agency mortgage-backed security prepayments continued to ramp up in the latest report but the increases generally came closer to matching expectations than the previous month.

The legacy that Fred Arnold hopes to leave to the world when he retires is how he has been helping other people grow their businesses and helping people grow their lives. "If I can do that, then I'll be just fine in business."

Even though the implementation of the Secure and Fair Enforcement of Mortgage Licensing Act was supposed to create a national set of standards for all mortgage originators, concerns that mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers are currently on an uneven playing field when it comes to becoming a registered loan officer persist.