Secondary Market

Joining a list of other mortgage fraudsters Monday, three Cleveland residents received jail time for their role in a multi-million-dollar scheme while two others in Maryland and Virginia saw their names in fine print over $700,000 in fraud. Home went into foreclosure as a result of much of the alleged crimes. MReport collected the stories from a bevy of news sources that include the FBI and a Cleveland news outlet. This comes on the heels of other mortgage fraud activity as it increases nationally.

Borrowers using Mortgage Lenders USA will now have the advantage of faster quotes when seeking a mortgage. The company announced recently that it would initiate a 24-hours or less policy in extending a mortgage quote to inquiring parties.

In Georgia, Flagstar Bancorp has officially sold its 27-branch retail bank franchise to PNC Bank, N.A. The deal, which was announced earlier this year, has reached its conclusion, and PNC Bank will now take possession of all leases associated with the locations, as well as all associated business and retail deposits. The purchase agreement for its Georgia locations follows Flagstar's December sell off of its Indiana branches. The total number of bank franchises sold stands at 49.

Courts across the country slapped defendants with charges over mortgage fraud this week, as a title agent, her husband, and a Brockton man received charges and a so-called kingpin from New York saw the next four to 12 years of his life consigned to prison. MReport culled stories from multiple news outlets to deliver the mortgage fraud blotter Friday for the past week. Acts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and identity theft populated the accounts of defendants and convicts alike.

Brokers and loan officers with independent mortgage banks and subsidiaries saw profit margins for their loans more than double on average over the last quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group released its findings in the Third Quarter 2011 Mortgage Bankers Performance Report, which it drummed up with production data reports from fewer than 300 companies. The MBA reported that loan originations averaged $1,263 over the third quarter.

The Mortgage Bankers Association made clear in letter Thursday that it opposes any proposed changes to the existing way mortgage servicers receive compensation. The letter addresses recent moves by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to open up market share for servicers by reducing their risk, granting more flexibility to guarantors on non-performing loans, and shoring up liquidity in the to-be-announced market. The MBA recommended a cash reserve structure in lieu of compensation changes.

Does housing matter to voters? A recent survey says yes ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and finds that housing policy will rank higher for voters than even national security come 2012. Houselogic.com, a consumer Web site affiliated with the National Association of Realtors, polled respondents across the country for the HouseLogic survey it released Friday. About one-third of all voters want to hear proposals from presidential candidates that address housing policy. Jobs and unemployment ranked first.

Just in time for bowl season, StreetLinks Lender Solutions has released an updated version of SCORe, the company's appraisal review product. The original incarnation of SCORe was launched in 2010 to provide a solution for the validation of comparable within appraisal documents, and the platform expansion will include the addition of a repurchase and loss warranty with each report.

Mortgage rates remained largely unchanged this week as debt crises in Europe drag on, with finance leaders and heads of state there seemingly unable to broker a solution. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac and finance Web site Bankrate.com each released separate surveys chronicling lurches in interest rates for loans. Bankrate.com also fielded record lows for jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, with rates for the loan falling to 4.68 percent for the first time in the history of the survey.

The results are in from the November 2011 Housing Scorecard. In addition to the report's traditional look at the country├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós real estate and mortgage markets, the most recent survey also closely examined the nation's 10 largest mortgage servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program, to promote transparency related to the platform's performance.