Mortgage-related business closings and failures are on track to post fewer incidences in 2012 than any year since the mortgage crisis began. In the third quarter, 17 mortgage-related businesses failed, down from 25 in the previous quarter and 31 in the same quarter last year, according to a findings released by Mortgage Daily. Bank closings followed this trend, falling from 15 failings in the second quarter to 12 in the third. Both numbers are down from the third quarter of last year, when 26 banks failed.

MGIC Investment Corporation is on its way to resolving stipulations from Freddie Mac in order to continue issuing insurance.

Lending QB and DocMagic have teamed together to offer a more seamless approach to loan origination in LendingQB's origination software.

Home prices and home sales are rising, despite lackluster demand of traditional owner-occupied housing, according to Tim Rood of The Collingwood Group.

A recent study from Heardable, Inc., revealed that Quicken Loans outpaces its lending competitors in strong branding through digital presence.

Commercial, multifamily mortgage debt outstanding totals $2.37 trillion as of the end of the first quarter, according to recent data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to change the guarantee fees (g-fees) the GSEs charge on single-family mortgages. Starting in 2013, g-fees will be higher in some states than others, according to a notice sent to the Federal Register. As per the current national model, "borrowers in states with lower default-related carrying costs are effectively subsidizing borrowers in states with higher costs," the FHFA stated. The proposed method of adjusting the g-fees considers three foreclosure aspects.

Closing rates and the time it takes to close on a residential mortgage increased in August, according to the most recent report from Ellie Mae. Ellie Mae estimates a closing rate of about 47.8 percent in August, up from 45.8 percent in July. The rate for purchase loans was 60.1 percent in August, up from 57.8 percent in July, marking the fourth consecutive increase. The closing rate for refinance loans decreased from 37.9 percent in July to 40.9 percent in August. The time it took to close a loan was 49 days in August, up just one day from July's closing time.

As part of its High Touch Servicing Program, Fannie Mae entered a deal with Bank of America in July 2011 to purchase mortgage servicing rights for about 384,000 high-risk loans the GSE guaranteed. The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General recently reviewed the deal and the program in general. The idea behind Fannie Mae's High Touch Servicing program is to purchase the servicing rights for portfolios of high-risk loans it guarantees and transfer them to specialty servicers to mitigate losses.

Two mortgage loan officers are suing Sterling Savings Bank, based in Washington and with operations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and California, faces litigation for allegedly violating federal and state labor laws. According to the complaint filed in an Oregon federal court, Sterling Savings Bank and Golf Savings Bank denied mortgage loan officers and other mortgage origination employees overtime pay they are due under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Sterling Savings and Golf Savings merged in 2010.