Origination

Radian Guaranty Inc. wrote $3.54 billion in new mortgage insurance in September, the company reported Wednesday.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) showed surprisingly little life this week following the better-than-expected jobs report for September. While rates did rise for the week ending October 11, most increases were mild. The 30-year fixed average posted the largest growth, rising to 3.39 percent (0.7 point) from 3.36 percent├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬Øa record low├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬Øthe week before. Bankrate's survey saw more dramatic increases, with the 30-year fixed hiking up seven basis points to 3.59 percent.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell to 339,000├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬Øthe lowest level since February 2008├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬Øfor the week ended October 6, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The drop was far steeper than market expectations of 370,000 initial claims. In addition, the previous week's report of 367,000 initial claims was revised up to 369,000. The claims filings appeared to lend some credence to the report last week when the nation's unemployment rate had fallen to 7.8 percent, the lowest level since January 2009.

The FTC alleges Equifax sold more than 17,000 lists of people who met specific criteria, such as being late on their mortgage payments. Equifax is said to have sold the lists to Direct Lending Source, Inc., which in turn sold the lists to other third parties. The lists included information such as credit scores and detailed how many days past due consumers' mortgage payments were.

The legal proceedings between MBIA Insurance Corporation and Countrywide Home Loans turned into a blame game as the companies battled over liability.

The Community Mortgage Lenders of America (CMLA) is now 100 members strong, the organization announced.

After having a banner week at the end of September, mortgage applications decreased to start October, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

Federal officials jointly announced Tuesday the results of the Distressed Homeowner Initiative, which is the first nationwide effort focusing on fraud schemes that targets struggling homeowners. Their efforts so far have led to 530 criminal defendants (including 172 executives) being charged in 285 federal criminal indictments. The cases involved more than 73,000 homeowner victims, and losses are estimated to be in excess of $1 billion.

Wells Fargo faces federal charges for alleged misconduct and fraud related to its role as a direct endorsement lender for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) over a span of more than 10 years. The civil lawsuit was filed Tuesday in a Manhattan federal court and alleges Wells Fargo falsely certified the credit and underwriting quality of thousands of FHA loans it originated which later defaulted, costing the federal agency hundreds of millions of dollars.

Hayden Christensen, most famous for his role in the modern interpretation of the Star Wars films, is selling his Los Angeles abode. The actor's posh pad, located in the Studio City area, sits on three-quarters of an acre and is listed for $2.65 million.