News

In a poll released this month, Gallup reports only 21 percent of consumers put "a lot" of trust in the security efforts taken by companies they regularly do business with. A combined 30 percent have little to no trust at all. While consumers expressed the most trust for banks and credit card companies, that higher confidence could stem from the fact that these businesses are subject to increased regulatory scrutiny as the result of the 2008 financial crisis.

Ongoing settlement negotiations between Bank of America and the Justice Department reportedly reached a stalemate Monday. Citing "people briefed on the matter," the New York Times reported late Tuesday that the offer fell far short of the record $17 billion that prosecutors are seeking to resolve the state and federal investigations. BofA is seeking to continue negotiations while the government finishes readying its petition to file in federal court.

In a market update, Wells Fargo's Economics Group contends that the road to housing recovery will be longer—and much bumpier—than expected. The group said that the "lack of a rebound in home sales this spring has reinforced our view that there was more than harsh winter weather behind the recent slide in home sales and mortgage applications."

LoanLogics, a company specializing in loan quality management and performance analytics, announced the hiring of Leah Fox, its new SVP of customer success. An expert in technology and ...

According to figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), loan application volumes rose 10.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted weekly basis for the week ending June 6. The increase followed a 3.1 drop in May's last week, which included an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday. Removing adjustments, MBA reported a 22 percent surge in applications last week from the prior period.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray appeared Tuesday in front of the Senate Banking Committee, and as always, the proceedings were contentious. At the hearing, a myriad of topics were discussed, including mortgages, student loans, and proposed data collection efforts for the National Mortgage Database.

A federal appeals court has rejected an attempt by Wells Fargo to block a government suit alleging the bank falsely certified the underwriting credit of loans it originated as a direct endorsement lender for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). In its attempt to have the suit dismissed, Wells Fargo argued the agreement outlined in 2012's National Mortgage Settlement barred the types of claims the government is now making.

Measuring new homebuilding against employment numbers—which only recently recovered from their recessionary decline—the National Association of Realtors finds that historically, there is one new home built for every 1.5 jobs added to the economy. As of the first quarter, 32 states and the District of Columbia are above that ratio, meaning job growth has far outpaced new construction over the past three years.

A bill designed to amend mortgage fee calculations under new industry rules cleared a major hurdle Monday, passing the House despite reservations from critics who say it may reopen the door to irresponsible lending. Introduced last year by a bipartisan group of representatives, H.R. 3211 would amend TILA to exempt fees from affiliated title companies from counting toward the 3 percent point and fee threshold established in the QM rule.

Global DMS and Collateral Analytics, two providers of valuation software solutions for real estate professionals, have come together to integrate parts of their products, the companies announced.