Keller Mortgage, part of the kwx holding company, laid off operations positions in a conference call on Monday May 23, according to more than a dozen employees. Pink slips will arrive for affected employees on May 27 and no later than June 1. The layoffs included closing managers, underwriter managers, processors, post closers, funders, and […]
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, Western nations have sidelined a raft of Russian artists, dancers and musicians with links to President Vladimir Putin. That includes star opera singer Anna Netrebko, who was dropped by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Netrebko, however, is making a comeback of sorts with an appearance Wednesday […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees the bulk of the mortgage market, now has a U.S. Senate-confirmed director: Sandra Thompson. The Senate today confirmed Thompson’s nomination to head the FHFA by a 49 to 46 vote. Thompson, a longtime regulator, has been leading the agency on a temporary basis for nearly a year. […]
One of the largest loan-servicing companies in the nation, Lakeview Loan Servicing LLC, is facing at least a dozen civil lawsuits, all seeking class-action status, in the wake of a major cyberattack that compromised the personal data of the mortgage borrowers the company serves. That data breach, revealed by Lakeview in mid-March, targeted the personal […]
Despite a decline in mortgage rates last week, mortgage application volume was down 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 20. The decline, as measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA’s) Market Composite Index, continued to be led by a drop in the refinance share of mortgage activity, which has been […]
Gallaudet University in Washington hosted its first undergraduate commencement ceremony since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Gallaudet is the only university in the world where deaf, deaf-blind and hard-of-hearing students live and learn bilingually in American Sign Language and English. Keynote speaker Apple CEO Tim Cook and Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin, among others, addressed the […]
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today issued the following statement in response to the tragic events at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas: details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
A Fannie Mae survey published in mid-May found that mortgage lenders see value in appraisal modernization, specifically in the implementation of non-traditional appraisals and inspection-based appraisal waivers. However, they have several more pressing priorities when it comes to what they’re investing in. Out of 200 senior mortgage executives surveyed, who represent 188 lending institutions, 94% […]
Indecomm Global Services, a New Jersey-based mortgage automation and services provider, aims to court more lenders through its new automation-enabled origination solution, GeniusWorks, which is intended to cut the cost of middle-office origination functions: set-up, processing and underwriting. GeniusWorks operates in conjunction with Indecomm’s suite of automation solution softwares to take loan files at set-up […]
When writing about the ’80s banks and passbooks, I started to see a pattern emerge concerning customers and refinance loans and rates. They were so high; then so low. I started thinking about farming. Farmers know that you can’t keep putting the same plants in the same dirt season after season. You kill your soil. […]
A Call to Action featuring Education, Labor, and Commerce Secretaries May 25, 1:30 p.m. ET By: Amy Loyd, Senior Advisor This is our moment to truly reimagine education. This is our moment to lift our students, our education system, and our country to a level never before seen. As the great Congressman Lewis said, “If […]
Despite the turbulence in the U.S. economy fueled by inflation, international tensions and rising mortgage rates, the private-label securities (PLS) market recorded a strong first quarter, at nearly $43 billion in issuance, and is projected to finish 2022 with record volume. That $43 billion mark represents the second-highest issuance total since the global financial crisis […]
California-based nonbank mortgage lender Pennymac Financial Services will lay off 207 additional employees in June and July following a workforce reduction filing of more than 230 employees in March. According to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices submitted to the Employment Development Department (EDD) on April 28 and May 9, the company plans to […]
Potential homebuyers in today’s market are facing a number of challenges, including increasing mortgage rates and a sizeable supply and demand imbalance that is pushing home-price appreciation to very high levels throughout the country. MBA’s Purchase Application Payment Index (PAPI) has increased by 32% thus far this year, indicating that payments have risen much faster […]
A piece of legislation introduced in the Senate in mid-May could streamline the appraisal process for VA loans. The legislation would modernize the Department of Veteran Affairs‘ appraisal requirements by allowing desktop appraisals, and in some circumstances, waving appraisals all together. Currently, all VA appraisals must be performed in-house. If passed, the legislation, introduced by […]
One of the most prominent events in the world of contemporary African art is kicking off in the Senegalese capital after a four-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 14th edition of the Dakar Biennale features the work of hundreds of artists from around the world, ranging from immersive installations to costumed performances. About […]
Full-service lender Cherry Creek Mortgage announced Rick Hogle has joined the company as its chief revenue officer. In his new role, Hogle will manage the firm’s retail operations, overseeing growth and development of retail sales and the production network, while supporting the firm’s business channels. He’s also tasked with developing a recruiting platform to engage […]
Today, the U.S. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
One of Eastern Europe’s most acclaimed filmmakers, Romania’s Cristian Mungiu, is back at the Cannes Film Festival with a dark tale about how little it takes for people to turn on their neighbors. His wrenching Ceausescu-era drama about illegal abortion “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” clinched the top prize at the world’s top […]
Colin Cantwell, the man who designed the spacecraft in the “Star Wars” films, has died. He was 90. The Hollywood Reporter reported Sunday that Sierra Dall, Cantwell’s partner, confirmed that he died at his home in Colorado on Saturday. Cantwell designed the prototypes for the X-wing Starfighter, TIE fighter and Death Star. He also worked […]
Roger Angell, the celebrated baseball writer and reigning man of letters who during an unfaltering 70-plus years helped define The New Yorker’s urbane wit and style through his essays, humor pieces and editing, has died. He was 101. Angell died Friday of heart failure, according to The New Yorker. “No one lives forever, but you’d […]
Maybe extra rest isn’t such a bad thing for a racehorse after all. In the Preakness Stakes that was run without the Kentucky Derby winner because Rich Strike’s owner felt he needed more time off after his 80-1 upset, Early Voting validated a gutsy decision to skip the Derby and aim for the second leg […]
By: Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D., Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education The COVID-19 pandemic proved to all of us just how important access to childcare and early childhood education is not only for children, but for parents and caretakers. I know I felt that tension, personally, as I too juggled childcare responsibilities for my […]
Planet Financial Group will donate $100,000 to a project that distributes food surplus to food banks. The donation will be made to The Farmlink Project, a nonprofit organization that aims to reduce carbon emissions and save millions of pounds of fresh produce by connecting farmers to food banks. Since Farmlink launched in 2020, more than […]
Fannie Mae has executed its fifth Credit Insurance Risk Transfer (CIRT) deal of 2022, providing up to $733.3 million in mortgage-risk coverage for the private market. The transaction, CIRT 2022-5 involved a covered loan pool of 67,700 single-family mortgages with a total unpaid principal balance of about $21 billion. The loans in the pool are […]
Rosmarie Trapp, whose Austrian family the von Trapps was made famous in the musical and beloved movie “The Sound of Music,” has died. She died Friday at the age of 93 at a nursing home in Morrisville, Vermont, Trapp Family Lodge announced. Her brother Johannes is president of the Stowe resort. Rosmarie was the first […]
A 1955 Mercedes-Benz, one of only two such versions in existence, was auctioned off earlier this month for a whopping $143 million, making it the world’s most expensive car ever sold, RM Sotheby’s announced Thursday. The 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe was sold to a private collector for almost triple the previous record, which was set […]
By: Richard Cordray, Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid Today, I’m pleased to announce that Federal Student Aid (FSA) posted the solicitation for what we’re calling the Unified Servicing and Data Solution (USDS). The USDS is the long-term loan servicing solution designed to provide federal student loan borrowers with […]
If there’s a bet to be made on the future of the non-agency lending space, it’s that the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) will become far more popular this year as purchase mortgages increasingly dominate a housing market pivoting to an up-rate environment. That’s the consensus forecast of a panel of non-agency industry experts who spoke at […]
Skyrocketing mortgage rates and a slowdown in new home constructions led to a drop in home purchases in April. Mortgage applications for new home purchases dropped 10.6% in April from the same period last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association builder application survey. Compared with last month, applications dropped by 14%. MBA estimates that about […]
Vangelis, the Greek electronic composer who wrote the unforgettable Academy Award-winning score for the film “Chariots of Fire” and music for dozens of other movies, documentaries and TV series, has died at 79. Greek media reported that Vangelis — born Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou — died in a French hospital late Tuesday. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis […]
A combination of persistent inflation, rising interest rates and a slowdown in global economic growth forced Fannie Mae to reduce this year’s GDP growth rate. Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group dropped its projected 2022 real GDP to 1.3%, 0.8 percentage points lower than its previous forecast. It sees the second quarter of […]
Female referees will make World Cup history this year by working games at a major men’s tournament for the first time in Qatar. Three female referees and three female assistant referees were announced Thursday by FIFA among 129 officials selected for World Cup duty, including one man who caused controversy when refereeing a chaotic African […]
Purchase mortgage rates this week averaged 5.25%, down five basis points from a week ago, as some individuals put the American homeownership dream on standby due to higher rates and surging home prices, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS. This time a year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate purchase rates were at 3%, the report shows. The government-sponsored […]
Nonbank mortgage lender and servicer Ocwen Financial Corp. announced on Wednesday that Sean O’Neil is joining the company as executive vice president and chief financial officer. O’Neil will start at Ocwen on June 13 to lead the firm’s global finance organization amid a challenging mortgage origination market. Before landing at Ocwen, the executive served as […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education published new guidance to assist institutions in providing mental health supports for students, faculty, and staff. The guidance will help colleges support students as they navigate mental health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. It also includes specific examples of how colleges can use Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a report this week looking at how servicers fared in the second half of 2021. The report said that on average, servicers improved their call metrics, but that some servicers continue to lag behind in assisting borrowers. According to the report, which examined data provided from 16 undisclosed […]
Individuals across the country put the American dream of homeownership on standby for the week ending May 13, reducing mortgage application volume by 11% compared to the prior week, as measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s (MBA’s) Market Composite Index. “Mortgage applications decreased for the first time in three weeks, as mortgage rates — despite declining […]
Private equity firm Narrow Gauge Capital (NGC) acquired Inco-Check, LLC, a provider of quality control audit mortgage software and fraud prevention services. Founded in 2000, Irvine, California-based Inco-Check leverages its proprietary web-based platform to support GSE, regulatory agency, and investor requirements. With NGC’s acquisition of Inco-Check, the company aims to enhance loan quality and prevent […]
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) resolved two complaints against San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, a private medical school in Puerto Rico. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
Orchard, which operates a home-buying and selling platform, wants to expand its customer base of first-time homebuyers by helping them to make a cash-backed offer. Buy with Orchard is the firm’s first product targeted to first-time buyers that provides home shoppers with the cash needed to compete with equity-rich homeowners and investors, the company said. […]
Julia Gordon made a habit of stopping by Ed Golding’s office when he ran the agency that she now leads. During her visits, one thing stood out to Golding, who served as the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s principal deputy assistant secretary from 2015 to 2017. Gordon already possessed a vast knowledge of the […]
The rise in mortgage-related fraud over the past three years was largely due to a surge in online and mobile-only mortgage transactions. The pandemic and growing mobile channel fueled the number of fraud cases with application fraud being a key entrant point for fraudsters, a new report analyzing fraud trends suggests. Fraud costs largely came […]
Servicers’ forbearance portfolio volume dropped in April to a level below 1%, with fewer than half a million borrowers remaining with an active plan, according to the monthly Loan Monitoring Survey conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). That’s good news after the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic hit borrowers hard, making it difficult for Americans to pay […]
As banks and non-bank lenders recently released earnings for the first quarter of 2022, two things became clear: Origination volume plummeted across the board, but those that managed to muster up a good quarter benefited from servicing portfolios. As refinancing became less appealing, lenders also sold off a large portion of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), […]