Altisource Portfolio Solutions' acquisition of Mortgage Builder Software will close next month, the companies announced Monday, following weeks of rumors but no official confirmation of the deal.

Peoples Bancorp reported higher earnings in the second quarter than a year earlier thanks to a stronger loan portfolio.

Under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plan, lenders would need to respond to virtually every public complaint — even those by consumers, disgruntled employees, and competitors that abuse this forum.

Republic Bancorp reported a slight bump in second-profits due to modest loan growth but results were tempered somewhat by a sharp drop in mortgage banking income.

Second-quarter earnings nearly doubled at Home Loan Servicing Solutions, despite a significant jump in operating expenses, as prepayments remained low and the rate of liquidations of seriously delinquent loans recovered.

Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. , the behemoths of the U.S. mortgage market, are surrendering more business to nonbank lenders.

Property valuation fraud risk in the first quarter was up from a year ago, while mortgage fraud risk remained unchanged, according to an Interthinx report.

Nearly five years after Bank of America dumped the Mortgage Servicing Package for technology it obtained in its acquisition of Countrywide, a forlorn Black Knight Financial Services is trying to win back the country's third-largest servicer.

Beginning home construction unexpectedly declined in June to a nine-month low as a record plunge in the South swamped gains in the rest of the U.S.

Confidence among homebuilders rose more than forecast in July, reaching the highest level in six months, as growing payrolls brightened the outlook after a shaky first half.

Mortgage applications decreased last week from the previous week, led by a drop in purchase loan requests.

The improvements in CMBS delinquency rates could reverse, the ratings agency cautioned, if applications for large servicing transfers and loan modifications are declined in the coming month.

Wells Fargo executives said they support federal regulators' effort to expand mortgage credit availability but cautioned that it will produce little benefit for the bank's, or the industry's, bottom line.

Fiserv and ChannelNet have added a feature to LoanLink, their borrower self-service tool, that lets distressed consumers apply online to restructure their mortgage or installment loans.

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services will launch a suite of training tools to help lenders comply with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new integrated mortgage disclosures.

SharperLending, which runs a platform where lenders order settlement services from vendors, now offers employment and income verifications through The Work Number.

Applications for loans to purchase newly constructed homes were down 5% in June from the month before, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data.

Churchill Mortgage has launched an employee training program that focuses on the housing needs of borrowers who are 18 to 34 years old.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans rose for the first time in four weeks, increasing borrowing costs as job creation bolsters the housing recovery.

Lack of funding confidence is why many longtime mortgage professionals are jumping ship and hitching their wagons onto new companies.