Origination

In St. Louis, Mortgage Returns announced the launch of its Spring Purchase Program as a way to help lenders boost loan volumes and referrals during the upcoming busy season.

An uptick in interest rates brought early March mortgage applications down, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported. MBA's Market Composite Index, a weekly released measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 2.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending March 7. On an unadjusted basis, the index dropped 1 percent.

While seemingly innocuous, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) push to change reporting requirements under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act may have unintended consequences for both servicers and legal teams to assess discriminatory lending practices. The CFPB is inviting input on both the content and the method of reporting. Now is the time to speak up on these matters.

In a letter issued to brokers Monday, Fifth Third Mortgage president Bob Lewis revealed the bank is exiting the wholesale business to focus third-party origination on correspondent lending. “While this was an extremely difficult decision to make, we intend to build on our leadership position in the correspondent market and remain committed to purchasing loans from smaller financial institutions and independent mortgage companies,” Lewis said in the letter.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index, a measure of borrower eligibility and underwriting criteria from more than 85 lenders, moved up half a percentage point to 113.5 last month, building on an increase of two points recorded in January. Once again, the expansion in credit offerings in February was the result of offsetting factors, said MBA chief economist Mike Fratantoni.

Citing weak Q1 MBS issuance data, researchers for investment bank FBR Capital Markets anticipate a weak first quarter, with issuances likely totaling near $200 billion. While noting that issuances are not the same as origination figures, FBR nevertheless dialed back its first-quarter origination projections to $244 billion, bringing its full-year forecast to $1.2 trillion from $1.3 trillion previously.

Six of the nation’s leading active mortgage insurance (MI) companies announced Monday the formation of a new trade association: U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI). Founded by member companies Arch MI, Essent, Genworth MI, MGIC, National MI, and Radian Guaranty, the new organization replaces Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA), which wound up operations earlier this year.

While mortgage origination volumes looked different last year compared to 2012, the list of top lenders looked very much the same. In full-year originations, Wells Fargo held on to its top spot, generating approximately $351 billion in loans—about 19 percent of last year’s total volume, according to Mortgage Daily. JPMorgan Chase followed up at No. 2 at $168 billion.

Compared to the prior period, the nation’s average Borrower Health Score was up 2.8 percent to 82.2, according to LendingTree, rebounding from the third quarter’s 1.6 point drop. The Borrower Health Score is calculated using the weighted average of credit score, loan-to-value ratio (LTV), and overall “lendability” of loan seekers in each state throughout the quarter.

A regulator who recently took actions to curb growth at Ocwen has now turned his eye to Nationstar. In a letter addressed to the company, Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services, said his agency has concerns "that the explosive growth at Nationstart and other nonbank mortgage servicers may create capacity issues that put homeowners at risk."