Bank of America will pay a penalty smaller than the average down payment on a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage, after one of its mortgage loan officers allegedly violated the Fair Housing Act. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Hung Tran, one of the bank’s loan officers at its branch in Fairfield, California, allegedly […]
Today, the Department of Education announced steps that will bring borrowers closer to public service loan and income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness by addressing historical failures in the administration of the federal student loan programs. Federal Student Aid (FSA) estimates that these changes will result in immediate debt cancellation for at least 40,000 borrowers under the […]
Publicly traded mortgage tech company Blend Labs laid off 10% of its workforce amid major headwinds in the mortgage industry. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday morning, the Nima Ghamsari-led fintech said its “workforce reduction plan” would eliminate approximately 200 positions across the company. The company, whose white-label technology powers […]
An LO with a client at the closing table ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HW-LO-mortgage.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HW-LO-mortgage.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”720″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HW-LO-mortgage.png?w=1024″ alt=”HW-LO-mortgage” class=”wp-image-321719″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HW-LO-mortgage.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HW-LO-mortgage.png?resize=150,90 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HW-LO-mortgage.png?resize=300,180 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HW-LO-mortgage.png?resize=768,461 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HW-LO-mortgage.png?resize=1024,614 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/HW-LO-mortgage.png?resize=600,360 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”> The raison d’etre is the same whether you work as a mortgage loan officer at a depository bank or an independent mortgage […]
Picasso ceramics, old masters works, and a fur coat are among the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s artworks and personal items to be auctioned off near Washington this month. Proceeds from the sale will go to the U.S. capital’s Washington National Opera to support an art form close to the iconic Supreme […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced plans for an upcoming summit focused on the ways President Biden’s American Rescue Plan is helping students, educators, families, and schools recover from the pandemic and reemerge stronger. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
It’s a convergence that happens only rarely. Coinciding with Judaism’s Passover, Western Christianity’s Easter and Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, Buddhists, Baha’is, Sikhs, Jains and Hindus also are celebrating their holy days in April. The springtime collision of religious holidays is inspiring a range of interfaith events. In Chicago, there’s the Interfaith Trolley Tour coming […]
Top depositary mortgage lender Wells Fargo & Co. announced this week that it has committed $210 million to advance racial equity in homeownership in the United States, following a Bloomberg investigation that found the bank approved fewer than half of Black applicants for a home refinancing in 2020. Kristy Fercho, CEO of Wells Fargo Home […]
Fannie Mae’s national housing survey from last year found that consumers believe that housing in their area is becoming less affordable and more difficult to find, contributing to their lack of enthusiasm to move. According to the survey conducted in the third quarter of 2021, 69% of participants share these sentiments. This marks a 20-plus […]
Wells Fargo Two of the nation’s largest banks – JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo & Co. – had their mortgage businesses hit hard by the higher interest rate landscape in the first quarter of 2022. The financial institutions reported double-digit declines in origination volume and net earnings from January to March, which were partially offset […]
Fannie Mae generated some buzz last week when it announced it would be accepting written attorney opinion letters in lieu of a title insurance policy “in limited circumstances.” HousingWire wondered: just what were those limited circumstances? According to the government sponsored entity, the only transactions ineligible for an attorney title opinion letter are those that […]
Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. What happens when the Federal Reserve begins pulling back in a serious way from the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market that it has helped to prop up through billions of dollars in bond purchases since the start of the pandemic in 2020 — to the point where it now holds a $2.7 trillion agency MBS […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education released its inaugural equity action plan as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued commitment to advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
The 5% threshold has been crossed, and given all the headwinds in the U.S. economy, it doesn’t appear that mortgage rates will be dropping below that mark anytime soon. Purchase mortgages this week averaged 5%, up 28 basis points from 4.72% a week ago, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS. A year ago at […]
Consolidation in the mortgage industry is likely in 2022, analysts and lending executives said. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”675″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?w=1024″ alt=”1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022 (1)” class=”wp-image-345148″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?resize=600,338 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>Consolidation in the mortgage industry is likely in 2022, analysts and lending executives said. Justin Woodward has […]
Data or network protection, business people press shield icon, virus security. Data protection and insurance Business security concepts, information security against virus. binary number 1010. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AdobeStock_426570472.jpeg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AdobeStock_426570472.jpeg?w=1024″ width=”5538″ height=”3115″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AdobeStock_426570472.jpeg?w=1024″ alt=”Data or network protection, business people press shield icon, virus security. Data protection and insurance Business security concepts, information security against virus. binary number […]
Despite advances in technology, the mortgage industry still lacks efficiency Mortgage executives are aware of a problem: despite billions of dollars in technology investments, the mortgage industry still largely looks like it did two decades ago. After all, it still takes 43 days, on average, to close a loan. “Realistically, it’s still basically the same […]
Mortgage application volume dropped 1.3% for the week ending on April 8, from the previous week, as mortgage rates eclipsed the 5% mark. Refinance applications fell 5% from the prior week and 62% from the same week a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s weekly survey. “Mortgage rates have spiked more than 1.5 […]
Fast-rising interest rates, up 1.5 percentage points over the past three months, have thrown a wrench into the mortgage origination and private-label securitization markets. Refinancing is plummeting, purchase activity is softening, and rate volatility is making secondary market deals harder to price efficiently across prime and non-prime/non-QM deals. In the face of all that dour news for […]
Gilbert Gottfried, the actor and legendary standup comic known for his raw, scorched voice and crude jokes, has died. He was 67. Gottfried died from a rare genetic muscle disease that can trigger a dangerously abnormal heartbeat, his publicist and longtime friend Glenn Schwartz said in a statement. “In addition to being the most iconic […]
Mortgage delinquency rates in January reached a 23-year low, driven by the skyrocketing housing prices and a strong job market. About 3.3% of mortgages were delinquent by at least 30 days or more including foreclosure in January, according to a new CoreLogic loan performance insights report. The figure dropped 2.3 percentage points from 5.6% in […]
Mortgage tech startup Staircase this week launched a blockchain-backed digital infrastructure that it says enables lenders to safely store collected mortgage data while processing mortgages faster. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Staircase rolled out Amazon Web Service blockchain-based “Staircase Persistence,” which it says helps companies manage data points used by their different customers by grouping data into sets, […]
On Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the same trend that all Americans have seen lately: the inflation rate of growth is rampant and doesn’t show any sign of easing up due to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. The Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers “increased 0.8 percent in February on a seasonally […]
In a selling guide announcement released last week, Fannie Mae announced that it would be accepting written opinion letters from an attorney in lieu of a title insurance policy “in limited circumstances.” According to the announcement, lenders “must ensure the loan is covered by either a title policy issued by an acceptable insurer (including any […]
Mortgage origination activity rose last month despite rapidly rising mortgage rates as prospective buyers sought to lock in their loans. Overall origination activity jumped 19% in March from the previous month, led by a 31% increase in purchase loan locks, according to the monthly Mortgage Monitor report from Black Knight. While cash-out refinance activity, which […]
Sultry musical “Cabaret” and fantastical literary adaptation “Life of Pi” were among the winners Sunday at British theater’s Olivier Awards, which returned with a live ceremony and a black-tie crowd after a three-year gap imposed by COVID-19. The celebration of London theater, opera and dance came back to London’s Royal Albert Hall for the first […]
The motion picture academy on Friday banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years following his slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. The move came after a meeting of the academy’s Board of Governors to discuss a response to Smith’s actions. “The 94th Oscars were meant […]
Freddie Mac’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Freddie Mac has unveiled its third credit risk transfer offering of the year through its Structured Agency Credit Risk (STACR) program. This latest transaction will bring the total note issuance so far in 2022 through STACR to $5.1 billion secured by single-family mortgage reference loan pools valued in total […]
This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Eric Lapin, who was recently appointed chief strategy officer at FormFree. Tapping into more than 25 years of experience, Lapin will strategically identify and execute growth opportunities at FormFree to drive the company forward. Prior to joining FormFree, Lapin served as first vice president of corporate development, national agency services, at Old […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s attempt to revive a mortgage servicing misconduct lawsuit against Ocwen Financial Corp. is in choppy waters. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that most of the watchdog’s complaints against Ocwen that occurred from January 2014 to Feb. 26, 2017, are prohibited because of a 2014 […]
It’s a depressing combination. A stunning rise in mortgage rates, historically low levels of inventory, and skyrocketing housing prices is fueling consumer pessimism. Fannie Mae‘s Home Purchase Sentiment Index, which tracks the housing market and consumer confidence to sell or buy a home, dropped by 2.1 points to 73.2 in March from the previous month. […]
Mortgage Coach and ReverseVision introduced an online program that allows loan originators to give consumers a comparison of how reverse mortgages perform against traditional mortgages over the lifetime of the loan. Dubbed Reverse TCA, the integrated presentation will enable all loan officers to educate consumers with borrowing terms for reverse mortgages and features such as […]
The pace of deals in the private-label securities market has started to slow as the second quarter of the year gets underway and interest rates continue their upward climb — with rising inflation and the war in Ukraine, which is impacting supply chains, helping to fuel uncertainty over the future. That’s what it looks like […]
Better.com CEO Vishal Garg ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”726″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?w=1024″ alt=”HW+ vishal garg” class=”wp-image-330967″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=150,91 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=300,182 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=768,465 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=1024,620 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=600,363 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>Better.com CEO Vishal Garg After becoming the poster child for callous mass layoffs, mortgage originator Better.com has adopted a new approach to reducing its workforce: the […]
Fannie Mae is marketing its 25th sale of reperforming loans since its first offering six years ago and its second sale so far in 2022. The offering is comprised of 7,600 mortgages with total unpaid principal balance of $1.49 billion. The sale of reperforming loans (RPLs) is being marketed in collaboration with Citigroup Global Markets, with bids due by […]
Nima Ghamsari, CEO and founder of mortgage fintech Blend Labs. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”675″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?w=1024″ alt=”1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022″ class=”wp-image-344336″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?resize=600,338 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>Nima Ghamsari, CEO and founder of mortgage fintech Blend Labs. Blend Labs CEO Nima Ghamsari is a betting man. In his early […]
The U.S. Department of Education is continuing to take action to support and invest in the teaching profession and address the teacher shortage many schools and districts across the country face. The Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) grant program is now accepting applications for efforts that increase the pipeline of highly effective educators. details ⇒ […]
Purchase mortgage rates have risen faster in the last three months than at any time since May 1994, climbing ever closer to the 5% mark due to a combination of rising inflation, the war in Ukraine, and disruptions to the supply chain. And bad news for homebuyers: there’s no sign that they’ll fall anytime soon. The latest weekly Freddie Mac PMMS mortgage […]
Borrowers with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac-backed mortgages have been granted an additional two months to avoid foreclosure if they’ve applied for assistance from the Department of the Treasury. An announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency on Wednesday notified servicers that they must halt foreclosure activities for up to 60 days if a borrower […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced an extension of the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections through August 31, 2022. While the economy continues to improve and COVID cases continue to decline, President Biden has made clear the continuing need to respond to the pandemic and its economic consequences, as well […]
Grammy Award-winning songwriter Ed Sheeran won a U.K. copyright battle over his 2017 hit “Shape of You” on Wednesday, then slammed what he described as a “culture” of baseless lawsuits intended to squeeze money out of artists eager to avoid the expense of a trial. The British pop star and his co-writers, Snow Patrol’s John […]
Interest in residential mortgage loans fell 6.25% for the week ending April 1 as rates jumped yet again, ever nearer to 5%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s latest survey. Refinance applications are in a free fall, as few borrowers these days have an incentive to change their current loans rates. Additionally, home price appreciation and insufficient for-sale […]
Will Smith resigned Friday from the motion picture academy following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment the organization imposed. Smith in a statement released Friday afternoon said he will “fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation […]
Top mortgage lending software and analytics provider Black Knight is exploring a sale following takeover interest from several private equity firms, according to a report from Bloomberg. The Jacksonville, Florida-headquartered firm hasn’t decided whether it would be sold or remain independent, unnamed sources told the financial news publication. Black Knight’s stock, like many in the […]
The boxes weren’t flying off the shelves. They weren’t even making it onto the shelves. The Masters has gone gnome-mad. Yes. Gnomes. The must-have item at the Masters this year isn’t any of the shirts or pullovers or caps with the tournament’s logo that can only be bought by those who are lucky enough to […]