Risk

From consolidation to tech innovation, here's a look at some of the top challenges and trends that mortgage executives from lenders, servicers and vendors are focused on for 2018.

Underwriting purchase loans is inherently more precarious for mortgage lenders and that contributed to the year-over-year increase in risk in new originations during the third quarter, CoreLogic said.

The House Financial Services Committee passed 13 bills (and scrapped a vote on one) Wednesday, including one that would stop Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from being released by the government and another hailed as helping the underbanked in rural areas.

Cutting payments helps stave off default, but principal reduction on underwater loans and lower consumer debt levels are less effective, according to JPMorgan Chase Institute's new study of post-crisis modifications.

While the nationwide run-up in mortgage loan application defects appears to have slowed, instances of fraud remain on the rise in Texas and Florida.

Closing mortgages more quickly could introduce efficiencies but it also could introduce fraud risks if done without strong identity verification procedures in place, LexisNexis Risk Solutions finds.

The J.G. Wentworth Co.'s financial results improved in the third quarter, due in part to an increase in mortgage originations, but it continued to operate at a loss.

Lenders holding a majority share in The J.G. Wentworth Co. agreed late last week to restructure and deleverage the embattled company as its operations stabilize and its mortgage unit grows.

Lenders selling loans through Freddie Mac's system experienced access difficulties Monday afternoon, when the government-sponsored enterprise sent out an alert to lenders about the problem.

Fannie Mae is testing a conforming loan product that makes use of a New Hampshire law that lets manufactured housing in resident-owned communities get treated like units in a co-operative building.