Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
Dozens of positions in the Lone Star State have been eliminated by Wells Fargo & Co. The affected employees work in mortgage servicing.
The San Francisco-based bank-holding company has laid off employees in San Antonio, Texas. The job cuts took place on Feb. 18.
A written statement from Wells Fargo indicates that the positions eliminated are in bankruptcy operations, a unit that is being reorganized.
From:: Financing
A strong employment report has already driven up interest rates. Despite the strength, the number of non-bank mortgages jobs declined by nearly 4,000 positions.
Among all U.S. industries, there were 148.177 million nonfarm jobs as of Feb. 28, according to data reported Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That turned out to be a whopping 313,000 more jobs than the prior month. Job growth expanded from an upwardly revised 239,000 positions added in January.
From:: Financing
Monthly mortgage rates climbed to the highest level in two years, while the weekly average was the highest it’s been in more than four years.
During February, annual percentage rates offered on purchase-money mortgages were 4.80 percent, up 25 basis points from January to the highest level since March 2016.
But for borrowers with the best profiles, APRs averaged just 4.22 percent last month. The APRs are based on 30-year mortgages that have fixed rates.
From:: Financing
A warning siren has been sounded about the risk from the growth in market share of non-bank mortgage originators and servicers.
Around half of all mortgages opened in 2016 were originated by non-bank home lenders. The share was the highest it’s been since 2000.
On loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 75 percent were originated by non-banks.
From:: Financing
A delinquent borrower has paid for a billboard in Wilmington, North Carolina, in his effort to avoid a foreclosure on his delinquent loan with SunTrust Mortgage Inc.
Scott Griffin had three loans with the Richmond, Virginia-based company as of 2007. One of the loans came due, and SunTrust initiated foreclosure proceedings on it.
So in an effort to avert the foreclosure, Griffin researched his loan documents and determined that SunTrust had never held clear title to his loan which was sold to a third party.
From:: Financing
A mortgage servicing rule has been finalized that addresses concerns that the industry has about communicating with bankrupt borrowers.
Servicing rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that went into effect in January 2014 provided a number of protections for distressed borrowers.
But a final rule issued in 2016 amended the rules. Among the amendments was a requirement for servicers to provide bankrupt borrowers with periodic statements tailored for bankruptcy.
From:: Financing
The ability for prospective borrowers to qualify for a single-family loan was more elusive last month, and jumbo credit tightening led the contraction.
During February, the Mortgage Credit Availability Index, a standardized quantitative index focused on mortgage credit, came in at 180.7.
The MCAI declined 1.2 percent from one month previous — when the index ascended to its highest level since at least 2008 based on historical data.
From:: Financing
In addition to two private-lending conferences, people in the mortgage industry will also be attending a credit risk workshop and a technology convention over the next 90 days.
LendingWise Lend Smart is holding a workshop during the 45th National Hard Money Conference from Pitbull at the We-Ko-Pa Resort & Conference Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, on March 14 and 15.
The workshop, which takes place on March 14, will be streamed live through two webinars. One session will cover Lend Smart’s customer relationship management offering and the other will cover its loan origination system.
From:: Financing
A split between liberal and moderate Democrats enabled the Republican-controlled Senate to move forward legislation that would overhaul the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
On Tuesday, S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, advanced by a vote of 67-32 in the Senate.
The vote likely clears that way for the Senate to pass the bill this week or next week, sending it to the House.
From:: Financing
A unit of the Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to settle allegations that it misrepresented the quality of residential mortgage-backed securities to investors prior to the financial crisis.
RBS Financial Products Inc. allegedly sold the securities in 2006 and 2007 even though due diligence vendors warned it that many of the loans did not meet its own guidelines.
In addition, a number of the securitized mortgages had loan-to-value ratios in excess of 100 percent, while many of the loans had no due diligence performed on them.
From:: Financing