Origination

Essent Group Ltd. more than doubled their net income for Q1. According to data released by the company, the net income for Q1 2015 was $38.4 million or $0.38 per diluted share, compared to $15 million or $0.18 per diluted share for Q1 2014.

Mid America Mortgage, Inc., based in the Dallas suburb of Addison, Texas, has announced the hiring of Adam Rieke as director of national TPO lending. Rieke's 23-year career in the mortgage lending arena includes managing several highly profitable wholesale lending operations. In his new role at Mid America, Rieke will focus on the TPO lending sector.

In their “Eye on Housing” blog, the National Association of Builders (NAHB) broke down the findings of the April 2015 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS), conducted by the Federal Reserve Board. In the survey, banks were asked questions that attempted to judge how they were responding to GSE guidelines issued on November 20, 2014 on life-of-loan representation and warranty exclusions.

ReverseVision announced the creation of an operations team, as well as the hiring of a new VP of sales and marketing to their company roster. The operations team will be dedicated to product operations, system monitoring, capacity planning, backup, recovery, hosting management, and product release. Wendy Peel, the company’s new VP of sales and marketing, will manage the brand, work with product development on system enhancements, and increase ReverseVision brand awareness for forward lenders and financial planners.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications report, mortgage applications have decreased 4.6 percent from last week. The Market Composite Index, which measures the amount of mortgage loans, decreased 4.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 1. The Index experienced a 4 percent decrease compared to last week on an unadjusted basis.

With the deadline for the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rules going into effect on August 1, many lenders are increasingly concerned about possible penalties should they not be fully compliant by this date. To address these anxieties, Congressmen Steve Pearce (R-New Mexico) and Brad Sherman (D-California), joined forces to introduce a bill (H.R. 2213) that would provide temporary leniency from lawsuits and law enforcement. If passed, it would remain in effect until January 1, 2016.

Lenders' share of mortgage purchase volume increased for the first time in 2015, jumping 5 percent according to the latest Origination Insight Report released by Ellie Mae, a leading provider of on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry. The report found that purchases represented 46 percent of lenders’ overall volume in March, compared to 53 percent in mortgage refinancing volume.

Financial conditions are improving in the Southern United States, according to a report released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The report, which details the performance of national banks and federal savings associations (FSAs), showed that nine states in the OCC’s Southern District showed improvement in 2014. Those states included Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

More than half of those surveyed were not aware that overdue bills could impact their credit score, and only 37 percent said they were confident that their current score could help them accomplish their personal goals. Sixty-six percent said they would like to improve their credit score over the next year.

The most recent FHFA index, released Tuesday, revealed that interest rates have increased slightly from February to March on several levels. The average interest rates on all mortgage loans for March jumped 3 basis points from February, from 3.77 percent to 3.8 percent.