General World News

Pennymac profits are up as it tests for a recession

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California-based Pennymac Financial Services delivered an increased profit in the third quarter of 2022, mainly due to the performance of its servicing portfolio.  However, the company has been looking at the challenges ahead and has started to estimate the impacts of a recession on its businesses while monitoring the need for more cost savings initiatives.  Profits came […]

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Top LO Shant Banosian on how to prepare for 2023

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Everyone knows that the current market is a challenging environment for housing professionals, as high rates mean fewer originations and even less refi business. But according to Shant Banosian, Guaranteed Rate’s top-ranked loan officer, now is the time for LOs to show up and work hard.  “In my opinion, this next 12 to 18 months […]

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LoanLogics makes changes to key leadership

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LoanLogics on Thursday announced changes to its executive leadership positions, with Dave Parker stepping in as new CEO upon the departure of CEO Bill Neville.  Neville said he is leaving LoanLogics, a data-driven mortgage audit, income calculation and loan quality software provider, in the “capable hands” of Parker. “Dave Parker understands the business side of […]

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Mortgage delinquencies may surge as budgets stretch

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While mortgage rates surged in the summer, the serious mortgage delinquency rates returned to pre-pandemic levels in August. Inflation, however, could be a big hit to delinquency rates, and may increase the overall delinquencies in coming months as household budgets tighten. The number of borrowers classified as seriously delinquent, who are 90 or more days […]

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Homebuyer affordability no longer a silver lining

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Homebuyer affordability, the silver lining in a cooled down housing market, took a huge hit in September as surging mortgage rates led monthly payments to rise.  The national median payment applicants applied for increased by 5.5% to $1,941 in September, up from last month’s $1,839, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). MBA’s PAPI, which […]

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MortgageHippo announces a rebrand to Revvin

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MortgageHippo, a digital mortgage proptech that offers a no code/low code digital mortgage platform to lenders, on Monday announced that it was rebranding to Revvin.  The new name is based on the sound an engine makes when the running speed is increased by pressing the accelerator, signifying efficiency. According to a statement from Revvin, the […]

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MBA’s Broeksmit takes aim at CFPB

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America is in a “full damage control mode” while the Federal Reserve attempts to control inflation, inflicting pain on the mortgage industry – and that’s when “bad policies have a habit of rearing their ugly head,” according to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) president and CEO Bob Broeksmit.  The main threat now comes from the Consumer […]

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Ginnie Mae tweaks re-performing loan guidelines

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Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo on Monday announced changes to the re-pooling seasoning requirement for re-performing loans, which it says will increase issuer liquidity. The government mortgage insurer will shorten the seasoning requirement from six months to three months and allow issuers the option to pool re-performing loans into TBA-eligible Ginnie Mae II Multi-Issuer Pools. […]

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The MSR sector continues to shine, but there is a looming concern

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The mortgage-servicing rights market just keeps on ticking even as the overall housing market takes a licking. And while depository banks that are fueling that growth, concern is mounting over Ginnie Mae MSRs held by nonbanks. Mortgage advisory firms Prestwick Mortgage Group and partner Mortgage Capital Trading (MCT); Incenter Mortgage Advisors; and MIAC Analytics are out with a total of 10 bulk mortgage-servicing […]

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How to get the most out of mortgage conferences

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Conference season is here in full force. After a one-to-two-year break from in-person events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be challenging to navigate the slew of mortgage conferences that hit the industry each fall.  For some, conference season never stops. In a recent episode of the Housing News podcast, HW Media CEO Clayton […]

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Finance of America Mortgage announces shutdown

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Amid one of the most challenging mortgage markets since the great financial crisis, Finance of America Mortgage LLC (FAM) will shut down by the end of the year following its decision to exit the wholesale channel and the collapse of a forward retail deal with Guaranteed Rate earlier this month. The board of directors of […]

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Ally Financial takes a big hit on Better.com investment

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Online bank Ally Financial recorded a $136 million impairment related to its investment in struggling digital mortgage lender Better.com, bank executives said Wednesday during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. The bank disclosed to shareholders and analysts that the $136 million impairment was a “nonmarketable equity investment” related to its mortgage business. “Following the impairment, our […]

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Nations Direct Mortgage appoints new national sales director

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Nations Direct Mortgage, a residential lender in both the retail and wholesale channels, on Wednesday announced appointing Jack O’Brien as its senior vice president and national sales director. Prior to joining Nations Direct, O’Brien held leadership positions at LoanDepot, was Northeast regional sales manager at Fifth Third Bank; principal at J.H. O’Brien & Associates and […]

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Smaller IMBs are better placed to weather challenges than larger ones, CHLA claims

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A doubling of 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates, shrinking profit margins and a risk of recession presents a challenging environment for independent mortgage banks (IMBs), but smaller IMBs are better positioned to weather challenges, claimed the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA), a lobby group that represents smaller mortgage lenders. Large IMBs with portfolio holdings […]

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Fitch downgrades two nonbank lenders, sets negative outlook for four

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Fitch Ratings in late October 2022 set negative outlooks for four nonbank mortgage lenders. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?w=1024″ width=”4429″ height=”2953″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?w=1024″ alt=”New York, NY, U.S.A. – Fitch Ratings: Fitch Ratings Inc. is an A” class=”wp-image-366713″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg 4429w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=150,100 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=600,400 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 4429px) 100vw, 4429px”>Fitch Ratings […]

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Housing completions key to lower mortgage rates

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In June of this year, I raised the fifth recession red flag, putting the housing market in a traditional recession where sales, incomes, jobs, and production would be falling, which is happening now. And unfortunately, one of those productions items is housing completions data — which looks terrible in the latest report. As someone concerned […]

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Black Knight rolls out CompassEdge hedging and trading platform

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Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight, launched its first hedging and trading platform CompassEdge, unifying its existing risk management and loan sale platform CompassPoint within a single system. CompassEdge is designed to support every originator – regardless of range, size or type – and provide pipeline risk management tools and analytics with dynamic loan […]

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Mortgage apps reach the lowest level in 25 years

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Mortgage demand continued its downward trend last week, reaching the lowest level in 25 years, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).  That indicates lenders may still face substantial declines in their origination volume in the last quarter of 2022. Depositary banks such as JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America have already delivered double-digit contraction in […]

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Black households have most to gain from inclusion of rent payment data: report

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Racial Equity Accelerator for Homeownership, a collaboration between Urban Institute and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of San Francisco, on Monday released a report that examines how the adoption of alternative data can benefit Black households within the mortgage lending landscape. The report found a 30-percentage point gap in homeownership between Black and white households […]

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Don’t miss the HousingWire Annual Remix on Oct. 20

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With how important and critical information is in the current housing environment, we’re excited to share these session highlights from HousingWire Annual in Scottsdale, A.Z. with you through this free virtual event. The HousingWire Annual Remix includes replays of the top sessions at the event like the fireside chat with FHFA Director Sandra Thompson and […]

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Planet Home Lending volunteers fight hunger

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The Howard County Food Bank in Columbia, Maryland, gained valuable volunteers and donations from Planet Home Lending as the organization partnered with Farmlink to deliver farm-fresh produce to the food bank. Volunteers from Planet Home Lending didn’t just donate canned goods and other grocery items — they got their hands dirty, pulled weeds, fertilized plants […]

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Forbearance rate declines again, but the pressure’s coming

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Servicers’ forbearance rate declined marginally again in September, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Monday. But the trade group expects pressure in the coming months due to the worsening economic conditions and the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian.  The total number of loans in forbearance decreased three basis points from the previous month to 0.69% […]

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MBA promotes Joel Kan and Heather Messam

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The Mortgage Bankers Association announced Thursday it promoted Joel Kan to vice president, deputy chief economist. Kan has worked at the association since 2006, rising from survey specialist to associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting in 2015. In his new role, Kan will lead the macroeconomic and mortgage market forecasts and oversee MBA’s […]

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JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and the challenging times ahead 

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JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo & Co., two of the nation’s largest banks, each faced a double-digit decline in their mortgage origination volumes in the third quarter of 2022. And the coming days don’t look any kinder: the banks’ top executives said on Friday the landscape remains challenging due to macroeconomic and geopolitical issues.  That’s […]

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Black homeownership group, MBA call for MIP cut

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The Mortgage Bankers Association and fellow trade group the Black Homeownership Collaborative have joined the chorus of voices imploring HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge to reduce mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs) and suspend life-of-loan requirements for borrowers with FHA-insured loans. The trade groups last week sent a letter to Fudge noting that since the start of the […]

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Will hotter inflation data trigger more rate hikes?

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On Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation came in hotter than expected, and people are scared that the Federal Reserve will now be more aggressive with their rate hikes. Personally, I believe the Fed knows that rental inflation data can lag so at this point of the […]

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A refi wave is years away as mortgage rates settle at 7%

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With mortgage rates surging to the 7% mark, industry observers believe that a new refi wave won’t return for several years. Lenders have started to prepare their businesses for at least two more years of reduced production.  The latest weekly survey data from Freddie Mac shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage surged 26 basis points from […]

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Specter of the S&L crisis haunts today’s mortgage market

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In the reflection, a mortgage executive in 2022 sees shades of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”675″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?w=1024″ alt=”Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art” class=”wp-image-366089″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?resize=150,84 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?resize=300,169 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?resize=768,432 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?resize=1024,576 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?resize=600,338 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>In the reflection, a mortgage executive sees faint images of the […]

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Homepoint shrinks its lending capacity

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Home Point Financial Corp. has terminated a master repurchase agreement and securities contract with Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Capital and Morgan Stanley Bank, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The financing arrangement was struck on June 3, 2020 with the maximum aggregate borrowing authority totaling $300 million, according to Home Point’s […]