News

Bank of America recorded a respectable profit in last year's fourth quarter, due in part to recovering--albeit still struggling--real estate figures. BofA took in $3.4 billion in profits last quarter, beating out Q3's $2.5 billion net income and last year's $732 million. Putting a drag on Q4's profits was an estimated legal expense of $2.3 billion, which reflected ongoing exposures related to disputes over bad residential mortgage-backed securities.

Having started the new year with a slight bump, mortgage application volume continued to climb in early January, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported.

Loans originated last year are the best-performing mortgage loans on record, according to the November Mortgage Monitor released Tuesday by Black Knight Financial Services (formerly Lender Processing Services). The Monitor also found a significant increase in non-agency loans, a sign that the market might be ready for more risk. Non-agency, first-lien, prime, jumbo loans have increased 75 percent over the year in November, according to Black Knight.

LendingQB, a California-based loan origination software (LOS) provider, has unveiled its Lean Lending model designed to reduced origination costs by as much as half.

This season's bank releases kicked off Tuesday with dual quarterly earnings reports from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo--and as projected, weakened origination figures took their toll. JPMorgan's fourth-quarter income came to nearly $5.3 billion, a recovery from the third quarter's losses but a weak showing compared to the prior year's $5.7 billion. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo reported fourth-quarter profits of $5.6 billion, a 10 percent improvement over the same quarter last year.

A recently launched survey from New York's Federal Reserve Bank shows consumer expectations for the next year remaining fairly flat in December.

To address concerns related to January's wave of regulations and ensure potential homebuyers still receive the service they're looking for, Churchill Mortgage has recruited a new full-time compliance trainer: Seth Trimble.

Citing declines in application activity and increases in interest rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is lowering its forecast for origination volumes in 2014, the group announced.

Fannie Mae released on Monday its latest forecast, predicting overall GDP growth of 2.9 percent in 2014 following 2013's expected growth of 2.6 percent.

ValuTrac, a software solutions company catering to the appraisal management and mortgage lending industry, hired Hank Pruett as VP of sales. Pruett has nearly 25 years of experience in appraisal management, title issues, and client relations and is knowledgeable in all types of appraisals, both residential and commercial.