Technology

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.