Risk management

Over 172,000 homes in Napa and Santa Rosa, Calif., are at some level of risk from wildfires, according to CoreLogic.

Competition in other areas of consumer lending has driven both VantageScore and FICO to build credit scoring models that are more accurate and more consumer-friendly. Permitting that competition in the mortgage market can increase certainty for lenders and transparency for investors.

Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley is almost done completing tasks mandated under the terms of a mortgage settlement in New York.

Mortgage lenders took on more risk in the second quarter as the share of loans to real estate investors and condominium owners increased, according to CoreLogic.

Reverse mortgage lenders are stretched thin to the point of having to turn borrowers away as seniors rush to get ahead of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage changes that will raise fees and lower loan limits.

Ginnie Mae will more closely examine liquidity at all issuers in response to complaints by the HUD inspector general that it would be vulnerable to defaults at nonbanks it does business with.

Ginnie Mae is giving expanded loan buyout authority to certain issuers in order to help them remove loans affected by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey from securitized mortgage pools.

Mortgage investors want Freddie Mac to align its policy with Fannie Mae's when it comes to how delinquencies related to Hurricane Harvey affect credit risk transfer deals.

Return on investment from flipping houses has declined nationwide for three straight quarters. Here's a look at five cities that still offer robust returns and five markets worth avoiding.

Banks should not point blame at the credit bureau but rather should step up and demonstrate their commitment to their customers. If you punt the problem to Equifax, it suggests you don’t really care.

Hurricane Irma could potentially affect more private-label mortgage securities collateral than any other recent storm.

Ginnie Mae will help issuers with certain servicing obligations if more than 5% of their portfolios are in areas Hurricane Harvey has ravaged.

Armada Analytics, a commercial real estate underwriting and asset management services provider, acquired Anabranch Flood, a provider of flood risk assessment services.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will adjust their risk-sharing deals so that they can accommodate high loan-to-value loans refinanced under the programs replacing the Home Affordable Refinance Program.

Payment processors and banks are being called on to cut off funds to white supremacist groups, but there are practical and legal limits to what firms can do.

Critics of recent False Claims Act enforcement argue the Justice Department is too heavy-handed toward lenders and servicers. But in an industry reputed for shoddy processes during the crisis, perhaps stringent oversight is warranted.

Using historical patterns to predict the next financial success or crisis seems rational. But beware the human psyche’s tendency to concoct order out of randomness.

Old Republic International Corp. is again making noise about bringing its mortgage insurance subsidiary back to active status, while separating it out from the holding company.

CoreLogic will fully integrate its 4506-T income verification product in August with Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter platform to provide Day 1 Certainty service.