Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau just fired a shot across the bow of all companies that provide financial services to consumers, warning companies about the risks inherent in sales incentives programs like the one that led to a massive fine being handed down against Wells Fargo. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
An editorial from The Orange County Register says there is no reason to preserve errors in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) says that the legislation has cut off credit to some credit-worthy borrowers and made bank accounts unaffordable for some Americans.
Even the law’s co-sponsor, former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), recently admitted that it was “a mistake” to apply the law’s extra supervision to smaller banks.
From:: Financing
A lawsuit filed against a bank in the state of New York alleges it offered better terms and higher loan amounts to white customers than better qualified black customers.
A nonprofit civil rights organization determined from Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data that only 2.5 percent of Ulster Savings Bank’s mortgages were made to blacks.
So the nonprofit sent testers to apply for home loans at the bank. Black testers reportedly had higher incomes, more assets, less debt and higher credit scores than whites.
From:: Financing
A mortgage banking firm with offices in five states that originates around $300 million a year has been acquired by a credit union.
First Liberty Financial Mortgage opened for business during 2002. At the time of its founding, it was based in Owensboro, Kentucky.
Since that time First Liberty has opened branches throughout Kentucky as well as in Alabama, California, Mississippi and Tennessee.
From:: Financing
The strong GDP is based on strong corporate profits, though this did not translate into a rally in the bond markets, as some would expect, especially considering that federal spending is also up. So why the bearish bond activity? …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Incenter, which recently expanded by launching a mortgage-focused broker-dealer called Incenter Securities Group, is expanding again – into title and settlement services. Incenter, a Blackstone portfolio company, announced Monday that it acquired Boston National, a provider of title and settlement services headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
The industry is quickly evolving to go to more digital, and Freddie Mac is right there with it to assist in the change. The GSE published an official list of approved eMortgage vendors to better streamline the mortgage process and to help encourage the use of digital mortgages. For anyone looking to go digital, check out this latest list. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
The monthly volume of residential loans endorsed by the Federal Housing Administration declined and could move even lower. A modest improvement was recorded for delinquency.
An analysis of data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development indicates FHA insurance was in force on 8,461,151 residential loans for $1.2518 trillion as of Sept. 30.
The total — including single-family loans, home-equity conversion mortgages and Title I loans — increased from 8,460,309 loans for $1.2497 trillion as of one month previous.
From:: Financing
The smartphone market is expected to show significant deceleration in 2016, according to the latest forecast by industry tracker IDC. Worldwide shipments are expected to reach 1.45 billion, which would represent a year-over-year growth rate of 0.6% compared with 10.4% in the year-earlier period. Alphabet Inc.’s Android operating system is expected to show the only growth, rising an estimated 5.2% year-over-year to 1.2 billion, fueled by Android’s expansion in emerging markets and the new Google Pixel phones that hit the market this fall. Shipments of phones operating Apple Inc.’s iOS, the second most-used operating system behind Android, are forecast to fall 11% year-over-year to 206 million, despite the release of the iPhone 7 in September. Microsoft Corp. smartphone shipments are expected to plunge 79%. Shares of Google rose 0.5% to $789.94 in morning trade and have risen 2.3% in the past year. Apple’s shares fell 1.1% on Tuesday and are down 6.3% in the past year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has outperformed both stocks on the year, rising 7.3%.
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From:: Stock Market News
Home prices finally surpassed their all-time highs set in July 2006 as the housing boom topped out. But despite the steady build up to this the past few months, the new highs aren’t necessarily a win after digging deeper into the data. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire