May 22, 2013
- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified regarding his position on the Fed's open-ended purchases. It appears Bernanke is in no rush to slow or inhibit the Fed's current open-ended purchasing rate currently hovering at $85 billion assets per month. As to whether or not Congress will heed Bernanke's economic insight or proceed to brave ahead by putting the brakes on the acquisition of assets remains to be seen, although predictions point to a proactive pruning and pausing of asset...
- Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a diversified component and special mortgage servicer based in the Dallas area, cut the ribbon on its new Florida-based operation Wednesday.
- Barclays forecast new non-agency RMBS issuance at $12 to $15 billion at the start of the year, and its latest research shows the market is on track to hit that mark. Contributing to that forecast are a few factors: First, Barclays notes, the capital costs of holding loans in portfolio will increase for many banks under Basel III, making securitization a more attractive proposition. Second, further hikes in guarantee fees (g-fees)--such as those mandated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (...
- A federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington ruled in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) and other defendants, MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. announced.
- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a statement Wednesday to encourage banks and federal savings associations to work with customers affected by the destructive tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma.
- Pacific Union Financial, LLC appointed industry veteran Scott Conradson as EVP of mortgage servicing. With over 28 years of servicing and default management experience, Conradson will manage the company's growing servicing portfolio.
- Although data shows women generally earn less income than men, results from a recent Experian study found women come out ahead when comparing how mortgage debt is managed. According to the study, men were more likely to have a higher mortgage loan amount compared to women, but men were also more likely to be delinquent by 60 days or more. Experian found the mortgage origination amount for men was $187,245, which is 4.9 percent higher compared to the amount for women. At the same time, 5.7...
- As home values improve and servicers continue to ramp up efforts to reduce delinquent pipelines through short sales and loan modifications, the composition of RMBS loan pools outstanding should also improve, according to Moody's most recent ResiLandscape. According to analysts from Moody's, rising home prices motivate current borrowers to avoid default, and they increase the proportion of current loans with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios below 100, which are the loans that are the least likely to...
- Existing-home sales rose 0.6 percent in April to an annual sales rate of 4.97 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The median price of an existing single-family home jumped $8,900 in the month to $192,800, the highest since August 2008. The inventory of homes for sale rose to 2.16 million--its highest level since last September. The supply of homes for sale rose to 5.2 months, the highest since October. Inventory has been a...
- Month-end mortgage performance data in April continued to point to a recovery as delinquency and foreclosure rates posted record improvements, Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) reported Wednesday. In April, the delinquency rate sunk below 6.5 percent for the first time since July 2008, according to the data provider. At 6.21 percent, the delinquency rate recorded a month-over-month decrease of 5.81 percent and a year-over-year decline of 9.61 percent. The foreclosure pre-sale inventory...