News

Citing weak Q1 MBS issuance data, researchers for investment bank FBR Capital Markets anticipate a weak first quarter, with issuances likely totaling near $200 billion. While noting that issuances are not the same as origination figures, FBR nevertheless dialed back its first-quarter origination projections to $244 billion, bringing its full-year forecast to $1.2 trillion from $1.3 trillion previously.

Wipro Gallagher Solutions (WGS), an end-to-end provider of lending products and services, announced the integration of its NetOxygen loan origination software with Optimal Blue’s automation platform.

Six of the nation’s leading active mortgage insurance (MI) companies announced Monday the formation of a new trade association: U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI). Founded by member companies Arch MI, Essent, Genworth MI, MGIC, National MI, and Radian Guaranty, the new organization replaces Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA), which wound up operations earlier this year.

The “boom-and-bust” markets, which led the nation in pre- and post-crisis home price trends, are now at the forefront of a new price trend—a deceleration in home price gains across the nation, according to Trulia. The national real estate company released its Price and Rent Monitors last week, revealing trends in asking prices across the country.

After starting the year on a low note, consumer attitudes toward housing brightened overall in February, according to Fannie Mae. That renewed confidence in home prices spurred a boost in those saying now is a good time to buy a home; that number was up 3 percentage points to 68 percent. At the same time, though, the share of respondents saying they think it would be easy for them to get a mortgage right now retreated from January's all-time high.

While mortgage origination volumes looked different last year compared to 2012, the list of top lenders looked very much the same. In full-year originations, Wells Fargo held on to its top spot, generating approximately $351 billion in loans—about 19 percent of last year’s total volume, according to Mortgage Daily. JPMorgan Chase followed up at No. 2 at $168 billion.

The Special Inspector General's office for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced the fraud conviction of a former managing director at New York-based Jefferies & Co. According to Special Inspector Christy Romero, Jesse C. Litvak misrepresented asking prices on residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), pocketing the profits. "Trading in mortgage securities can be a complicated business, but what the defendant did was simple—he lied to, defrauded, and illegally overcharged customers out of pure greed to benefit Jefferies and himself," Romero said.

Amid calls from the Obama administration for a more stable housing market—particularly where affordable housing is concerned—Michael Stegman, counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury for Housing Finance Policy, Thursday called for top-down reforms that would rewire how the federal government funds and regulates both government and private-label securities. He also criticized a pair of "implausible scenarios" that would either leave the GSE system to amend itself or rely on minor revisions.

BSI Financial Services, Inc., a privately held company specializing in residential mortgage servicing, subservicing, and quality control, announced the launch of BSI Client Asset Risk Evaluation System (CARES), an advanced loan quality control order management and process control solution.

Compared to the prior period, the nation’s average Borrower Health Score was up 2.8 percent to 82.2, according to LendingTree, rebounding from the third quarter’s 1.6 point drop. The Borrower Health Score is calculated using the weighted average of credit score, loan-to-value ratio (LTV), and overall “lendability” of loan seekers in each state throughout the quarter.