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Author Archives: Abby Gregory

MIS Approved for UCDP Integration

Mortgage Information Services, Inc., has completed its testing by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the company has been approved, taking its connection with the UCDP live.

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New President Announced for ServiceLink

A new president has been announced at ServiceLink, with the appointment of Chris Azur to the prestigious position. Formerly the company's executive vice president and chief operating officer, Azur has been with ServiceLink for more than four years. In his previous role for ServiceLink, Azur was responsible for multiple aspects of valuations, title, and closing operations for the entity.

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Massachusetts Home Sales Show Mixed Results

In Massachusetts, the sales pace for single-family homes was on the rise during October, for the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases in the region. However, the state's housing market continues to struggle overall, with a 9 percent drop in total sales volume recorded for 2012. Single-family home sales in Massachusetts are down in terms of the year-to-date pace; by October of last year, around 34,823 homes had sold in the state, according to a recent sales study by the Warren Group.

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Federal Reserve Releases New CDIAC Roster

Fed

The Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC) has revealed its membership line up for 2012. The consulting arm of the Federal Reserve Board also announced its president and vice president appointees, along with four new faces joining the roster.

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Research Reveals Plans for Layoffs at Big Banks

A new report from Zacks Equity Research provides an in depth examination of the imminent layoffs for Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, Bank of New York Mellon, and State Street. Via the company's Analyst Blog, Zacks.com evaluated the planned personnel reductions and the potential long-term effects of staff cuts from the major financial institutions. According to Zacks, Wells Fargo is moving forward with Project Compass, the entity's cost-efficiency initiative which began in 2010.

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UCMC Teams Up with Costco Mortgage Services

United Community Mortgage Corporation has a new partnership. The company recently announced that it has been approved to join the line up of preferred mortgage lenders under the Costco Mortgage Services platform, which is operated and managed by First Choice Bank.

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International RMBS, CMBS Sales Impacting Banks Globally

In international news, the sale of securitized bonds is causing concern for the secondary market. Analysts from Morgan Stanley released a recent report indicating that securities earmarked for sale by the European banks holding the bonds could reach as high as $470 billion. For struggling companies, rising costs for funding and capital have weakened their positions, leading to the sale of assets; the institutions seeking to liquidate securities holdings encompass lenders focused on deleveraging and distressed banks.

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Groups Ask CFPB for More Transparent Appraisal Forms

Do appraisal forms and documents need more transparency? At least one trade group says yes. The Appraisal Institute joined together with other organizations to petition the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for stronger buyer communication when it comes to information about appraisal costs and settlement forms. Specifically, the letter delivered to the government group asked for the separation of appraisal fees from administration and processing fees on settlement forms given to consumers when purchasing a property.

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Drop in Rates Pushes Borrowing Costs to Historic Low

Mortgage rates continue to drop and recent statistics show that the price of long-term lending is approaching historically low numbers. Results of this week's survey from Freddie Mac show that an unexpected rise in home sales coupled with low rates have brought the cost of borrowing to its second-lowest level ever recorded. Percentages for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage loan fell to 3.98 percent off of 4 percent from the previous week, and the averages for 15-year fixed rate mortgages hit 3.3 percent, down from 3.31 percent.

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