The MReport Webcast: Friday 10/31/2014

With less than one year left before new mortgage disclosure rule goes live, a new survey finds more lenders are battling with increased loan costs as quality control becomes the top concern. In a poll of mortgage executives conducted earlier this month, data management solutions firm Capsilon found 95 percent of lenders surveyed are either somewhat concerned about loan quality right now, with four in five saying they are quote--very concerned.

As the majority of lenders prepare for the deadline, the survey also found firms are planning to pay more money for compliance-related activities next year on top of the increased costs they've already taken in 2014. According to the findings, 80 percent of executives surveyed reported that their 2014 loan production costs are somewhat or significantly higher than they were last year as a result of regulatory requirements, and 39 percent anticipate spending more for compliance next year. The results fit with MBA's most recent report on mortgage banking profits, which found total loan production expenses averaged nearly $7,000 per origination in the second quarter but up more than a thousand dollars from the same time the year before.

The nation's economy continued to grow at a brisk clip in the third quarter, slowing down from the prior period but still beating forecasts. Gross domestic product in the United States increased at an annualized rate of 3.5 percent last quarter, according to an advance estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Economists surveyed by Econoday anticipated a growth rate of 3 percent, a significant drop from the second quarter’s growth rate of 4.6 percent. The GDP report comes a day after the Federal Reserve announced plans to close down its bond-buying program, signaling increased confidence in the economy's progression.