Tag Archives: Mortgage Applications

As companies like Target and Michaels Stores continue to take a drubbing over high-profile data breaches, a report from cybersecurity firm HALOCK Security Labs suggests mortgage lenders may not be doing enough to protect applicants' sensitive financial data. After investigating practices at 63 lenders of varying size, HALOCK found more than 45 companies (70 percent) permitted applicants to send personal and financial information through unencrypted email attachments.

Mortgage application volume remained essentially flat last week, with refinance and purchase loan numbers canceling each other out, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. According to MBA's Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, loan application volume fell a scant 0.2 percent (seasonally adjusted) for the week ending January 24. The results include an adjustment to account for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, on which markets were closed. Unadjusted, applications fell 9 percent week-over-week.

As if this month's regulatory changes weren't enough, lenders have another problem to grapple with: According to stats released by Kroll Factual Data, incidents of potential mortgage fraud are on the rise. Between the second and third quarters of 2013, the company recorded a 10.4 percent average increase in "possible fraudulent activity" in loan applications submitted for review. "The call for increased vigilance and processes for mitigating this risk is at a pitch not to be discounted or ignored," said Kroll president Rod Bazzani.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, loan application volume rose 4.7 percent (seasonally adjusted) for the week ending January 17. The overall increase came entirely from a continued recovery in refinance numbers. The survey's Refinance Index was up 10 percent week-over-week, with refinance share accounting for 64 percent of total applications, the highest level in a month. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index dropped 4 percent compared to the prior week.

The latest builder application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) suggest new home sales numbers came in below average for December. MBA's latest Builder Application Survey, a measure of application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of homebuilders, shows applications for new home purchases dropped 11 percent from November to December (unadjusted). Unadjusted, MBA estimates the month saw 28,000 new home sales.

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

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.

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.

Mortgage applications declined at the end of the year, but Capital Economics expects applications to rise this year as both the housing market and broader economy continue to improve.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 5.5 percent decline (seasonally adjusted) in loan applications for the week ending December 13. On an unadjusted basis, MBA's Market Composite Index was down 6 percent. According to Mike Fratantoni, MBA's VP of research and economics, the latest index is the lowest it's been in more than 12 years. "Both purchase and refinance applications fell as interest rates increased going into today's Federal Open Market Committee meeting," Fratantoni explained.