Qualified Mortgages

Despite recriminations about how the crisis and ensuing regulations have tightened loan access, an actual assessment of mortgage credit availability finds the situation is more complicated.

Increased competition among non-qualified mortgage lenders leading to lower starting interest rates for borrowers should result in fewer of these loans prepaying within one year of origination, said Standard & Poor's.

Fund manager Varde Partners wants to grow its partnerships with lenders and servicers interested in selling off their excess mortgage servicing rights.

New investor appetite for mortgages over $1 million is motivating more nonbank lenders to offer super jumbo loans, often with weaker credit terms than traditional banks.

Some collateral attributes, such as non-full documentation and a high percentage of non-QM and HPQM loans, fall slightly outside the credit box seen in other recent prime transactions, according to Fitch.

American Mortgage Consultants has acquired the right to hire 50 employees from The Barrent Group and will add 150 more in response to increased private-label securitization.

Angel Oak Companies' affiliates increased their production of loans made outside the boundaries of the Qualified Mortgage definition by 90% year-over-year during the second quarter, when most lenders' volume fell.

The collateral includes both QM and non-QM loans; however, certain loans are designated as QM even though the borrower’s DTI may be above 43%, due to a temporary exemption for GSE-eligible loans.

Since its inception, the qualified mortgage rule has been synonymous with loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or guaranteed by government agencies. But a broader QM definition could change that by creating more competitive private-label options.

Angel Oak Commercial Lending has acquired a controlling interest in lender Cherrywood Mortgage in order to strengthen its focus on small-balance commercial lending.

Anticipated changes to the qualified mortgage rule will give lenders more options and force them to rethink their views on risk.

As President Trump signed the regulatory relief bill into law on Thursday, most of the attention was on a provision to help regional banks with more than $50 billion of assets. But a majority of the new law is aimed at helping institutions below $10 billion. Here's how.

The industry’s biggest legislative victory in a decade made it to the finish line Thursday.

The increased regulatory burden created by the Dodd-Frank Act restricted bank residential lending in 2017, especially when it came to non-qualified mortgages, according to an American Bankers Association survey.

Mick Mulvaney’s recent comments about the CFPB Qualified Mortgage rule have triggered a debate over whether regulators should take into account more than one underwriting model.

Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney suggested that digital mortgages should be held to different standards than ones originated by credit unions and banks.

After originating more than $1 billion in loans outside the ability-to-repay rule's Qualified Mortgage safe harbor last year, Angel Oak is planning to originate at least twice that in 2018.

Impac Mortgage Holdings generated almost $4 million in net income during the first quarter as it continued to downsize to adjust for origination declines and benefited from servicing gains.

Carrington Mortgage Services' decision to offer subprime mortgage loans was a natural progression from its decision four years ago to concentrate on borrowers with credit scores under 640.

Lenders should not get so desperate chasing volume by originating lower credit non-qualified mortgage products that they are inviting the next regulatory crackdown, said David Stevens, the Mortgage Bankers Association's CEO.