News

BOK Financial, a regional financial services company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, recently announced that it has named Glenn Brunker to lead BOK Financial Mortgage. In his new role, Brunker will manage all mortgage origination channels. He will replace Ben Cowen, who resigned from BOK Financial earlier this year to pursue another career opportunity.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen served as the lone witness in a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Wednesday titled "Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy.” In the semiannual report to Congress, Yellen was questioned about the highly anticipated rate increase, among other topics such the overall state of the economy, inflation, employment, and monetary policy. She maintained her position on the uncertainty of the rate increase until further economic improvement occurs.

Bank of America reported a net income of $5.3 billion for Q2, more than twice the bank's net income from the same quarter in 2014, according to the bank's Q2 2015 earning statement released Tuesday. U.S. Bancorp and PNC also posted solid growth in Q2 with net incomes of $1.48 billion and $1.0 billion, respectively, Tuesday in their earnings statements.

For the fifth consecutive month, appraiser home value opinions dropped further below homeowner estimates in June, according to a recent report from Quicken Loans. The mortgage lender reported that appraiser opinions of home values were 1.4 percent lower than homeowner estimates, according to their monthly national Home Price Perception Index (HPPI).

In an effort to bring diversity, inclusion, and equality to their forefront agency, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released their Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) Strategic Plan for FY 2016 to FY 2018 on Tuesday. The plan is the result a strategic planning process to develop effective strategies to fulfill OMWI’s role in leading diversity and inclusion (D&I) and equal employment opportunity (EEO) efforts at the FHFA.

As home prices continue to increase and the market picks up momentum, more properties are being sold at a discounted price. In a recent blog from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), author Scholastica Cororaton, a research economist at NAR found that 63 percent of properties sold at a discount compared to the listing price in May 2015, according to the May 2015 Realtors Confidence Index Survey.

Both JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo posted strong financial results in the second quarter, with Chase experiencing a 5 percent jump in net income, according to earnings statements released by both banks on Tuesday. Chase's Q2 net income of $6.29 billion represented an increase of 5 percent from the same quarter a year ago, while the New York-based bank's period-end balance sheet was down $123 billion in the second quarter.

Investors bidding on properties online and at live events nationwide appear to prefer flipping these purchased properties more than renting them. Auction.com recently revealed the findings from its second quarter 2015 Real Estate Investor Activity Report, a nationwide survey of real estate investors.

LenderLive Network Inc., a domestic-based, end-to-end mortgage services provider, recently announced that Sharif Mahdavian has joined the firm as VP of business development for the company’s Due Diligence division, reporting directly to Mark Hughes, president of LenderLive’s Due Diligence Division.

More millennials are valuing homeownership these days and trying harder to gather the funds to buy a home of their own, as a recent survey conducted by Washington, D.C.-based business advisory firm the Collingwood Group indicated. The survey, released Tuesday, showed that 65 percent of people polled between the ages of 24 and 34 were willing to forego modern conveniences in order to save for a down payment to purchase a home.