Article Archive for February 2012
By Ryan Schuette | 02/29/2012
A hearing held by House lawmakers Wednesday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recast housing and the Dodd-Frank Act as issues critical to the economic recovery. The central banker said that 30 percent of home sales recently consisted of foreclosures and properties in distress, reflecting ongoing trouble for a market underpinned by high home vacancy rates and downward pressure for home prices. The underwriting process, down payments, and pending regulations also took center-stage during the discussion, with House members spotlighting recent servicer consent orders.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 02/29/2012
Overall economic activity continued to increase at a modest to moderate pace in January and early February, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in the Beige Book. The report – an anecdotal review of conditions in each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts – showed economic improvement varying across the country. Residential real estate activity increased modestly in most parts of the country, while home prices declined or held steady in many areas. Reports on banking conditions were generally positive across the country. Demand for residential mortgage loans increased in New York and Richmond.
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By Abby Gregory | 02/29/2012
In Illinois, PrivateBancorp, Inc., has named a new president of personal client services. The financial institution recently appointed Brant Aherns to the leadership role, which marks the launch of a new line of business for PVTB.
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By Abby Gregory | 02/29/2012
The Debt Exchange recently released its commercial loan report for January, and the findings indicate that loan values are continuing to rise steadily, following the trend of the past 12 months. According to data from DebtX, values for commercial real estate loans stood at 79.
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By Ryan Schuette | 02/29/2012
The refinance share of mortgage applications broke with several weeks of activity by falling below 80 percent last week, even while more borrowers took advantage of the expanded Home Affordable Refinance Program. The Mortgage Bankers Association said in a weekly survey that mortgage application volume contracted by 0.3 percent from the week before, while the index covering it dropped 9.4 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis. The Refinance Index climbed down by 2.2 percent from the week before.
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By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 02/29/2012
Real GDP – the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States – increased at an annual rate of 3.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Labor Department said Wednesday. In its initial report on fourth quarter GDP, the agency had said the nation’s economy grew at a 2.8 percent pace. Economists had forecast no change in the advance GDP estimate issued last month. Housing grew at an 11.5 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter, its fastest growth rate since the second quarter of 2010 when it grew at a 22.8 percent rate.
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By Ryan Schuette | 02/29/2012
The U.S. banking industry will continue to suffer from overexposure to residential mortgage loans for the near future, with the nation’s top financial institutions likely to feel the burn more than others, according to Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency said in a recent research note that it estimates that declines in home equity will lead to more than $80 billion in losses for the top 20 financial institutions over the next three years. The projections reflect a loss rate of 5.1 percent on loans in the combined amount of $1.6 trillion.
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By Abby Gregory | 02/29/2012
Accurate Document Service, Inc., has launched a new national platform. A long time corporate partner of ADS, eLynx announced that the document prep company will begin creation and delivery of closing documentation on a nationwide basis.
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By Abby Gregory | 02/29/2012
Community financial institution, Severn Savings Bank has named a new chief financial officer. The Maryland-based bank recently promoted Stephen W. Lilly to the leadership role.
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By Ryan Schuette | 02/28/2012
The acting commissioner for the Federal Housing Administration fended off continuing concerns about the agency’s fiscal solvency Tuesday during testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. Lawmakers took turns questioning Treasury draws and actuarial projections for the FHA, which remains unable to meet a 2-percent capital ratio buffer required by federal law. The FHA faces continuing concerns over a failure by the agency to put up enough capital to meet the needs of an undercapitalized Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.
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By Ryan Schuette | 02/28/2012
The Federal Housing Administration said Monday that it would lift premiums for lenders of single-family mortgages in line with a stipulation under the payroll tax cut extension last year. Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said the agency would raise the annual mortgage insurance premium by 0.10 percent for mortgage loans under $625,000, as the bill requires. The FHA will also lift premiums for mortgages above the threshold by 0.25 percent, upfront premiums by 0.75 percent, and annual premiums by 0.10 percent. Funds for the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund: $1 billion.
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By Abby Gregory | 02/28/2012
The Justice Department has reached a deal with Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. The agency recently announced that the two entities have struck an agreement that pertains to underwriting practices related to loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration and HUD. FBC will revise its fourth quarter and full year financial results for 2011 as per the terms of the transaction. Additionally, FBC will reaffirm its forward looking statements for 2012, made by the company during its earnings call for fourth quarter findings in 2011.
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By Abby Gregory | 02/28/2012
Heartland Financial USA, Inc., has announced a new technology platform to enhance the company's loan servicing operations and processes. Heartland recently selected the LoanServ program from Fiserv, Inc., for its technology provisions.
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By Ryan Schuette | 02/28/2012
Home prices reached fourth-quarter lows not seen since 2002, with the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Index yielding 3.8 percent in declines for December last year. The index found that prices fell 4 percent year-over-year, alongside 1.1 percent in month-over-month declines for 10- and 20-city composite measures. Eighteen of 20 metropolitan areas monitored by S&P bore the brunt of monthly price declines, with figures up 0.2 percent and 0.8 percent for only Miami and Phoenix, respectively. Atlanta slouched into the negatives at 12.8 percent. Detroit offered the only positive annual return at 0.5 percent.
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By Ryan Schuette | 02/27/2012
The federal government leveled charges against Bank of America Monday that the mortgage company wrongfully discriminated against three borrowers with disabilities. HUD filed suit under the False Claims Act, alleging that Bank of America requested proof of disability from borrowers and Social Security income information after denying their qualifications for mortgage loans. In a sign of the growing authority for working groups, HUD said that it would hand off the investigation to the Justice Department and Federal Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which will assign it to a group.
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By Ryan Schuette | 02/27/2012
More homebuyers are scooping up properties with cash only, even in an environment for record-low mortgage rates, according to a recent survey. Campbell Surveys and Inside Mortgage Finance jointly released the HousingPulse Tracking Survey, collecting responses from about 2,500 real estate agents around the industry. The survey said that cash buyers will account for roughly half of all homebuyers in 2012 if current trends continue. The survey also attributed the rise in all-cash transactions to hefty discounts and late appraisals.
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By Ryan Schuette | 02/27/2012
MetLife originated $11 billion in commercial mortgages in 2011, making last year the largest on record for the life insurer. The company said in a statement Monday that it achieved the results by signing off on a number of real estate transactions with mortgages roughly equal to $200 million and above. It said that these include $350 million on a loan for commercial real estate in Manhattan and $255 million on a mortgage for an office building in Chicago. The record-breaking loans from last year come on the heels of a pullout by MetLife from the forward mortgage origination business.
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By Ryan Schuette | 02/27/2012
Wells Fargo recently announced that company veterans Brad Blackwell and Greg Gwizdz will take up new positions for the lending division responsible for non-agency mortgages.
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By Abby Gregory | 02/27/2012
Lenders participating in LendingTree's network have a new platform to help raise lead volume. The national online lending exchange recently launched the Predictable Volume Program for qualified network members.
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By Ryan Schuette | 02/27/2012
Pending-home sales shot up by 8 percent year-over-year in January, according to the National Association of Realtors. The trade group found that pending-home sales – contract signings for homes that have not yet closed – rose from 89.8 in January last year, which it indexes on a monthly basis. NAR said that the Pending Home Sales Index also climbed by 2 percent to 97 in January, reaching the highest figure since the homebuyer tax credit lifted it to 111.3 in April 2010. Regionally, the index gained by 7.6 percent to reach 78.2 for the Northeast, reflecting a 9.8-percent year-over-year increase.
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