The so-called qualified residential mortgage (QRM) rule, which was put up for consideration by FDIC's board of directors Tuesday morning, would require banks to retain at least 5 percent of a loan's risk when packing mortgages to sell to investors in the secondary market. The QRM rule is one of the bigger provisions mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, with co-author Barney Frank remarking in the past that risk retention is "the single most important part of the bill."
Read More »Existing-Home Sales Rebound from Late-Summer Decline
Total existing-home sales, including single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums, and co-ops, inched up 2.4 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.17 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Tuesday. While September's sales rate marks a 2014 high, transaction volume remained down 1.7 percent compared to last September's annual sales rate of 5.26 million units.
Read More »Profits Jump 87% at Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley's third quarter 2014 net revenues of $8.9 billion marked an increase from $8.0 billion from the same period a year ago, the investment bank reported in its Q3 2014 earnings statement released on Friday. Morgan Stanley's net income for Q3 2014, including discontinued operations, was reported at $1.7 billion.
Read More »Revolving HELOC Volumes Hit Six-Year High
Credit reporting agency Equifax released on Monday its latest National Consumer Credit Trends Report, revealing that the total balance of new credit for revolving home equity loans in the year's first seven months was $65.9 billion. The figure, up 21.4 percent year-over-year, marks a six-year high.
Read More »Maryland Bank Closes in 15th Collapse of 2014
The Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation in Maryland shut down NBRS Financial, based in Rising Sun, appointing FDIC as receiver, according to dual releases from both agencies. The latest collapse follows a quiet period after what had been an active summer for FDIC. Last year, the agency announced 24 bank closings, 22 of which had already occurred by this time.
Read More »Housing Market Slows as Supply Problems Continue
At the national level, Realtor.com reported the median age of September's housing stock was 90 days, four days longer than August's median age as home shoppers back off for the season. Compared to last year, though, September's median inventory age was down three days, indicating demand is still there. The number of listings last month was approximately 1.87 million, down 2.7 percent annually and 7.9 percent monthly.
Read More »All-Cash Home Sales Recede to Six-Year Low
According to transaction data from CoreLogic, home sales transacted entirely in cash accounted for 32.9 percent of total home sales in July, down from 35.9 percent in July 2013. It was the lowest cash sales share since August 2008. As of July, all-cash sales were still well above their pre-crisis average of 25 percent as traditional mortgage buyers still find it difficult to get a foot into the market.
Read More »Nearly 500K Homeowners May Be Affected by Faulty Servicing Records
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) puts a more focused eye on mortgage servicing transfers, one document processing firm says faulty servicer database records could impact hundreds of thousands of homeowners across the country.
Read More »White Paper Explores Mortgage Servicing Challenges
CoreLogic has released its fourth out of a series of four white papers entitled Foundation for a Sound Housing Market addressing the high-level aspects of the challenges today's mortgage servicing sector is facing. Other key issues discussed in the white paper include mortgage servicing models available and the specific risks associated with each one.
Read More »September Home Sales Beat 2013 Figure
Though September home sales were down 10.4 percent from August—an expected seasonal trend—September is the first month in 2014 in which home sales exceeded those one year prior, according to the latest National Housing Report from RE/MAX. The firm found that home sales last month were 0.9 percent higher than in September 2013, which is no small feat, considering that 2013 was marked by double-digit growth in home sales nationwide.
Read More »