Tag Archives: Mortgage Applications

Litigation fees, bold restructuring moves, and new regulation helped shape earnings figures over the third quarter for the nation's largest lenders and financial institutions in October. Along with numerous other banking holding companies and investment firms, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo released their reports to the media and investors over the past two weeks. The results: more mortgage lenders continue to exit the business, while financial institutions stepped up the public debate against onerous regulations.

As debate heats up about whether to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act, witnesses testifying before the House Financial Services Committee Monday appeared as divided over the issue as the general public, with some criticizing the law and others praising it. The leaders of banks and credit unions largely panned the financial regulatory overhaul, highlighting the demand for more resources and manpower in compliance issues even as regulators themselves continue to scrutinize new loans. Others said that Dodd-Frank benefited the recovery.

The nation's four biggest mortgage lenders recently signed up for modifications to the Home Affordable Refinance Program, adding credibility to a mass refinance opportunity that met with cheers and criticism this week. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced this week that it would lift the 125-percent loan-to-value ratio for mortgages, do away with risk-based fees for borrowers with short-term loans, and extend the lifetime of the program until 2013. B of A, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo all came forward.

Bank shares lifted in the enthusiastic market response to news that European Union states reached a grand bargain to save the euro, but analysts speaking with MReport pare jubilation with forecasts for fewer refinance applications and home purchases. After two years of time spent in a debt crisis, European leaders cobbled together a third bailout measure to salvage debt-ridden Greece and prevent further peril for the continent├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós common currency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released projections Thursday that showed the GSEs may need anywhere from $51 billion to $142 billion more taxpayer funds over the next few years, even as one Republican lawmaker offered a plan that would siphon federal support for the companies. The scenarios show that the companies will ultimately need to withdraw anywhere from $220 billion to $311 billion from the federal government, a lower estimate for forecasts that originally fixed their needs at anywhere from $221 billion to $363 billion.

Mortgage rates largely remained near historic lows from the week earlier, reflecting a sense of uncertainty that continues to persist among wary homebuyers. Bankrate.com denoted a new low for the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which fell from 4.38 percent last week to crest at 4.33 percent this week. Finance Web site Bankrate.com and mortgage giant Freddie Mac polled financial institutions and the like in their weekly surveys. Freddie differed by few turns, signaling the loss of one percentage point this week.

Mortgage application volume leapt forward by 4.9 percent from the week earlier despite flailing numbers for purchase applications. The Mortgage Bankers Association released the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for last week, with findings that include a seasonally adjusted 4.9-percent increase and an unadjusted 4.8-percent increase in terms of total mortgage application volume. Mike Fratantoni, VP with the MBA, tells MReport that application volume remains historically low due to low job growth, among other things.

Rising mortgage rates led to 15-year lows for mortgage application volume last week, with lower purchases following uncertain macroeconomic activity and a rush to rentals by prospective first-time homebuyers. In releasing the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the Mortgage Bankers Association found purchase applications plunging by 8.8 percent from the week earlier ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the lowest on record since 1996. The trade group reported declines in overall loan volume by 14.9 percent on both a seasonally adjusted and seasonally unadjusted basis.

After hitting rock bottom last week, mortgage rates returned to previous lows on a somewhat tenuous climb this week as European central bankers seemed to reach a deal and a U.S. jobs report netted better-than-expected results. Leaping forward from a history-making 3.94 percent last week, interest rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.12 percent, according to Freddie. Bankrate.com offered up similar results, showcasing a 4.37-percent 30-year loan rate this week, up from 4.21 percent.

Fewer refinance applications will drive mortgage originations substantially lower over 2012, with loan volume plunging from $1.2 trillion over 2011 to $900 billion over the new year, according to recent study by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group tied historically low mortgage rates, plodding existing-home sales and home prices, and a laggardly unemployment rate to the notion that the U.S. will continue to experience trouble ahead in mortgage originations.