Practice and client management

Here they are, the best of the best. The 2020 countdown of the National Mortgage News Top Producers list wraps up, featuring the loan officers ranked 1 to 25.

Community banks and credit unions could carve out an opportunity by refinancing mortgages from larger institutions.

Nonbank financial firms spent years lobbying against tougher regulation and stricter capital requirements, arguing they didn't pose a risk to the financial system. Now, many of those companies say they are in desperate need of a bailout.

For the Top Producers, many say a key to success involves taking that initial conversation with a potential borrower beyond the rate question.

The 2020 countdown of the National Mortgage News Top Producers list continues by featuring the loan officers ranked 26 to 100.

Williston Financial Group accounted for a pandemic in business continuity plans, and it helped some, but COVID-19 was a much larger scale than it anticipated.

The 2020 countdown of the National Mortgage News Top Producers list continues by featuring the loan officers ranked 101 to 200.

The 2020 countdown of the National Mortgage News Top Producers list continues by featuring the loan officers ranked 201 to 300.

Social-distancing restrictions related to the coronavirus have hit hospitality employment particularly hard, and that presents a hiring opportunity for an online lender needing more help with consumer-facing work.

The 2020 countdown of the National Mortgage News Top Producers list begins by featuring the loan officers ranked 301 to 400.

The pandemic has upended staffing plans, sparked concerns about servicers’ capacity to handle the expected crush of missed payments, and even raised questions about their ability to stay afloat.

Mortgage real estate investment trusts are taking stock of their financial ability to respond to market shocks and other concerns stemming from the coronavirus.

The actions include cutting the federal funds rate to between 0% and 0.25% and other steps to ease economic stress from the spread of the coronavirus.

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors on Friday launched a centralized link to state websites highlighting information relevant to business continuity plans for licensed mortgage loan officers.

The North Carolina company will hold onto the loans after the Fed's decision to slash interest rates.

Mortgage-related companies finalized four partnerships, a servicing-retention firm went up for sale, and a long-delayed insurance-related transaction moved forward this week in a wave of industry merger and acquisition activity.

Servicers' struggle to retain borrowers mounted in the fourth quarter when a type of loan that is tough to recapture rose to a more than 10-year high, according to Black Knight.

Fears stemming from the coronavirus have resulted in lower mortgage rates and more business for now, but if the situation deteriorates further, consumers could decide to put off buying a home.

The 10-digit penalty marks an important milestone for the bank, but individual ex-bankers may still be at risk and grueling hearings lie ahead for current leadership.

A deferred-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department spares the bank a potential criminal conviction — provided it cooperates with continuing probes and abides by other conditions.