The average 30-year-fixed rate mortgage dropped to 3.05% during the week ending Dec. 23, after achieving 3.12% the week prior, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.66%. The 15-year-fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.30% last week, declining from 2.34% the week prior. A year ago at […]
Pope Francis urged Vatican cardinals, bishops and bureaucrats Thursday to embrace humility this Christmas season, saying their pride, self-interest and the “glitter of our armor” was perverting their spiritual lives and corrupting the church’s mission. As he has in the past, Francis used his annual Christmas address to take Vatican administrators to task for their […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced a 90-day extension of the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections through May 1, 2022. The extension will allow the Administration to assess the impacts of the Omicron variant on student borrowers and provide additional time for borrowers to plan for the resumption of payments and […]
In India, the government has proposed legislation to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years old, bringing it on par with men and saying it will empower women. But many women activists say the planned law would do little to address deep-seated societal problems that result in millions of […]
Utilities, telecommunications and rent payment data ought to be used in mortgage underwriting, especially since federal regulators say they are focused on improving racial equity and may update their credit scoring models. So argued a report released Tuesday by Michael Stegman, a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute and former senior policy advisor on housing […]
Mortgage applications fell 0.6% for the week ending Dec. 17, with fewer borrowers looking for purchases in the lower end of the market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey published on Wednesday. The decrease was driven by the purchases index falling 3.3% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Concurrently, the refi index […]
National Hockey League players will not compete in February’s Beijing Winter Olympics in the wake of 50 NHL games being postponed over COVID-19 issues, according to multiple reports Tuesday. ESPN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today and other newspapers cited unnamed sources in saying the league and the NHL Players Association had […]
New Orleans is shortening parade routes for the upcoming Mardi Gras season because there are fewer police officers, medics and other first responders to handle the crowds, officials said Tuesday. The city canceled Mardi Gras parades this past February because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2020 parade crowds are considered a big reason that New […]
As 2021 draws to a close, it’s clear that the private-label residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) market has notched a year for the record books. For the full year, the RMBS 2.0 market — defined as all post-financial-crisis prime, non-prime and credit-risk transfer (CRT) transactions — is projected to exceed $115 billion in issuance. That’s more […]
Higher inflation, post-pandemic economic recovery and a reduction in Federal Reserve stimulus incentives are key economic factors expected to put upward pressure on interest rates as we move into 2022 — increasing the already stiff competition among mortgage lenders. Furthermore, a more competitive mortgage lending environment will only magnify the importance for lenders to have […]
If you take the temperature of how loan officers are feeling ahead of the holiday season, the scale would likely read “uneasy.” They have good reason to feel anxious. Numerous shops, including Better.com, Interfirst Mortgage, and Freedom Mortgage have announced layoffs in the past few weeks, and some LOs worry their jobs may also be […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education released the 2022 application for the Statewide Family Engagement Centers program, underscoring the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to ensuring parents and families play a critical role in informing and supporting their children’s education and academic success. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of […]
The Africa Football Cup of Nations tournament is scheduled to begin January 9 at Olembe Stadium in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde. On Monday, Confederation of African Football President Patrice Motsepe visited the 60,000-seat stadium, which is still under construction less than three weeks before the opening match. Motsepe says construction workers are improving on the stadium […]
The share of mortgage loans in forbearance decreased by 39 basis points to 1.67% as of Nov. 30, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the latest sign that the sun is setting on loan forbearance agreements hammered out under the CARES Act. Under COVID-19 legislation signed by President Donald Trump in April 2020, many homeowners […]
DocMagic announced on Monday the rollout of eDecision, a fully automated platform that it said will significantly expand the level of analysis applied to e-eligibility determination for eClosings. The automated loan document preparation and eMortgage services provider claims the new platform delivers a clear-cut, highly accurate decision telling users exactly how far they can take […]
Two federal regulators said on Monday that they will double down on scrutiny of mortgage servicers, following complaints of housing rights violations made by military families and veterans. In a joint letter, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said they are watching to ensure mortgage servicers fully comply […]
Most of the time, the economy is like a slow-moving ocean liner that changes direction gradually and without much effort. But when a new, powerful variable presents itself, like the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the economy can change on a dime. COVID was a veritable iceberg for our ocean liner economy, but the ship did not […]
Detroit-based platform Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, announced on Monday it is acquiring the personal finance app Truebill for $1.275 billion in cash. The acquisition, expected to close prior to the end of the year, is a step toward a centralized platform for clients to manage their financial lives, the company said. It’s […]
Jeffrey Wilen The Covid-19 pandemic hit Jeffrey Wilen and his family hard. In July 2020, he lost his job as an editor at a consulting firm for spa professionals. By that point, his wife, fearing infection, had already decided to resign as a part-time assistant teacher to stay home with their three kids. It took […]
Redwood Trust Inc. has long been a major player in the private-label securitization market, and it sees a looming problem brewing in the housing industry. That issue is about boundaries — specifically, the line drawn between the roles of private industry and the government in the housing market. Redwood completed more than $1 billion worth of […]
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai is denying that she wrote a social media post last month accusing a now-retired Communist Party official of sexually assaulting her. In a video posted Sunday on the website of the Singapore-based Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, Peng told the interviewer she has “never said or written anything accusing anyone of sexually assaulting me,” a […]
Ken Kragen, a top entertainment producer, manager and philanthropist who turned to such clients as Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers in helping to organize the 1985 all-star charity single We Are the World, has died. He was 85. Kragen died Tuesday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement released […]
Special purpose acquisition companies’ appetite for real estate and mortgage businesses apparently isn’t dead yet, despite recent problems involving Better.com that pushed a merger with Aurora Acquisitions Corp. to next year, if at all. Blank check company Southport Acquisition Corporation concluded on Tuesday a $230 million capital raising to pursue acquisitions mainly in mortgage and real estate verticals in the United States. […]
As we approach 2022, some concerning headwinds confront the mortgage origination industry. For companies to survive and thrive, mortgage executives must focus on three primary factors: risk, strategy and efficiency. In terms of managing financial risk, considerations include interest rate, market and reputation. Risk is becoming more pronounced as the Federal Reserve announced its plan […]
An Australian-led study warns that 1,500 of the world’s 7,000 recognized languages might no longer be spoken by the end of this century. The research, published Friday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, details a wide range of factors putting endangered languages under pressure. Australian researchers have found that as roads increasingly connect cities […]
Multiple Grammy winner Bruce Springsteen has sold his masters and music publishing rights to Sony Music in a deal worth about $500 million, entertainment publication Billboard said Wednesday, citing sources. The sale will give Sony ownership of the rock music legend’s entire catalog, including 15-times platinum album “Born in the U.S.A” and five-times platinum “The […]
It is an eventful week within the Slack channels of Knock, and an anxiety-filled one for the company’s about 50 loan officers. On Tuesday, according to multiple sources within the New York-headquartered mortgage lender and “power buyer,” a weekly video meeting of Knock loan officers took a turn when Robert Foos, Knock’s director of sales, […]
The process of vetting loan pools assembled for private-label securitization deals is, to a degree, like sausage-making. Few take the time to understand the process, but everyone eating the sausage wants to trust that the ingredients won’t cause them heartburn. A recent report by the Kroll Bond Rating Agency, however, raises a yellow flag about current […]
Mortgage applications for new home purchases in November dipped 2.2% year-over-year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s builder survey published this week. From October 2021, applications also decreased by 3%. The mortgage trade group estimates that on an unadjusted basis there were 65,000 new home sales in November, from 68,000 new home sales from the […]
The average 30-year-fixed rate mortgage increased to 3.12% during the week ending Dec. 16, up from 3.10% the week prior, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.67%. The 15-year-fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.34% last week, declining from 2.38% the week prior. A year ago, at this time, it averaged […]
In 2012, Dmitry Godin was seemingly on top of the world. Interfirst Mortgage, the retail mortgage business he founded in 2001, had grown to $14.5 billion in originations, cementing its place as the 15th-largest originator in the country. By July 2013, things were going so well that Godin and his wife purchased a lakefront mansion […]
Chinese authorities are pledging unrestricted internet access for foreign athletes at February’s Beijing Winter Olympics, but rights advocates say athletes will likely be cautious about exploiting the rare crack in China’s “Great Firewall.” China has been strengthening that firewall for more than a decade, blocking access to internationally popular foreign messaging apps, social media platforms, […]
Toronto-based cryptocurrency lending platform Ledn has raised $70 million in a Series B funding round to support the growth of its digital assets lending business, including a new Bitcoin-backed mortgage product. The round valued the company at $540 million and was led by 10T Holdings, the company announced on Wednesday. Other investors included Golden Tree Asset Management, Raptor Group, and FJ Labs. […]
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued the following statement today on President Biden’s intent to nominate LaWanda Toney for assistant secretary for communications and outreach at the U.S. Department of Education: details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
The Federal Reserve announced that it is accelerating its tapering of bond-purchases starting in January. The central bank’s Federal Open Markets Committee said that “in light of inflation developments and the further improvement in the labor market,” it will reduce the pace of its monthly purchases by $20 billion for Treasury securities and $10 billion for agency […]
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of educators, school leaders, and administrators across the country and the support of unprecedented federal resources through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), nearly all students are attending school for full-time, in-person instruction. As a nation, we’re at a place where we do not have to choose between reducing our children’s […]
Yarnbombing is part street art, part graffiti, and part activism. A new art trend in New York City takes the age-old craft of crocheting to the streets, where traditionally walls and fences have been serving as canvases for graffiti artists. Nina Vishneva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this […]
Mortgage applications fell 4% for the week ending Dec. 10, large part because fewer borrowers are looking to refi their exiting mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey published on Wednesday. The decrease was mainly driven by the refi index falling 6.4% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Concurrently, the purchase index increased 0.7% from […]
Congolese rumba is among at least nine new entries on UNESCO’s “representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.” UNESCO is making its 2021 designations this week, recognizing cultural heritage ranging from Arabic calligraphy to falconry to Nordic clinker boat traditions. Congolese rumba was named to the list Tuesday. The Democratic Republic of Congo […]
The non-QM mortgage market, which encompasses most home loans not backed by a government-sponsored guarantee, is expected to reach the $25 billion mark this year in private-label securitization volume. Over the next several years, however, assuming interest rates continue to tick upward absent great volatility, the non-QM (or non-qualified mortgage) market has the potential to […]
Layoffs swept through Freedom Mortgage’s Fort Mill, South Carolina office last Friday, sources familiar with the situation confirmed to HousingWire this week. The exact numbers have not been publicly disclosed, but laid off employees said it’s in the hundreds. A manager at Freedom, who requested anonymity, told HousingWire that the sales side of the Fort […]
Mortgage lenders generated more defective loans in the second quarter, reflecting the transition from a refinance to a purchase market, according to ACES Quality Management’s latest critical defect report. The critical defect rate climbed to 2.27% in the second quarter of 2021, ending the trend of improvement in the previous two quarters. In the most […]
Movie dramas “The Power of the Dog” and “Belfast” led nominations on Monday for the annual Golden Globes in a year clouded by controversy and a scaled-down ceremony. “Belfast,” set in 1970s Northern Ireland, and director Jane Campion’s Western “The Power of the Dog” got seven nods each. They were followed by global-warming satire “Don’t […]
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a series of new actions to help improve customer experience and Government services for the American people. The new Executive Order directs Federal agencies to put people at the center of everything the Government does, and includes 36 customer experience (CX) improvement commitments across 17 Federal agencies, all of which aim to […]
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today announced $182 million in new grant awards to 30 school districts, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations across the United States as part of the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program. These grants will support local efforts to develop, implement, and take to scale entrepreneurial and evidence-based projects that have the potential to improve academic achievement for underserved students. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this […]