Origination

At an industry event held in Phoenix, Darrin Benhart, deputy comptroller for credit and market risk at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, described the changing face of risk management as the mortgage industry adapts to increased regulation. "As you well know, the list of mortgage-related reforms is extensive," Benhart said. "These reforms mean you will need an even greater emphasis on risk management techniques that not only look at credit risk but also encompass operational and compliance risk."

Total Mortgage Services LLC announced the launch of its new program created to speed up the mortgage closing process.

Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for August shows mortgage applications for new home purchases declined compared to July. According to MBA's monthly Builder Application Survey (BAS), loan applications for the purchase of new homes fell 14 percent month-over-month in August. Taking information from the BAS--as well as assumptions regarding market coverage and other factors--MBA estimates sales of new single-family homes ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 424,000 in August.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the average 30-year fixed rate staying put at 4.57 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending September 12.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending September 7 plunged 31,000 to 292,000, the lowest level since March 2006, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected the number of claims to edge up to 330,000 from the 323,000 originally reported for the week ending August 31. The number of filings for that week was unchanged.

LenderLive Appoints VP for GuardianDocs Division In Colorado, LenderLive Network, Inc., appointed Bob Crittenden as VP of sales for its GuardianDocs division.

In its 15th Annual Mortgage Fraud Report, LexisNexis Risk Solutions put a spotlight on three economic indicators: mortgage fraud and misrepresentation involving industry professionals, potential collusion activity, and volume of properties in default. Looking at mortgage loan fraud levels, researchers at LexisNexis determined that most states have seen fraud fall to normal levels since 2008, though the fallout from prior years continues to build.

Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance (USMI) and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced Tuesday that a redesigned training curriculum for CampusMBA's CRU Specialist Designation will soon be available.

Mortgage refinance applications went into free-fall last week as interest rates came back up, according to data in the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, dropped 13.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending September 6. The Refinance Index fell 20 percent week-over-week, bringing it to its lowest level since June 2009.

LendingTree released on Tuesday the top 10 customer-rated lenders in its network, revealing California-based HomePlus Mortgage as the No. 1 lender for the second quarter. The top 10 list was created based on a weighted average of review rating and volume of customer reviews. Following HomePlus on the list were Pacific Beneficial Mortgage Company; Affinity Mortgage, LLC; Mortgage Loans for Texas; and Americash in the top five. The company's network includes more than 250 lenders.