Tag Archives: Processing

Wary of an uncertain economic climate, new regulatory legislation, and the potential for burdensome capital restrictions, the nation's top lenders financed fewer mortgage loans in 2010 than in 2009 to keep their ledgers in the black a cumulative pattern that analysts and news reports say hampers housing and, potentially, recovery in the broader economy. According to analysis conducted by The Wall Street Journal, the 10 largest mortgage lenders in the country denied 26.8 percent of loan applications last year, up from 23.5 percent in 2009.

Kinecta Federal Credit Union released a statement Tuesday announcing that it will repackage HomePath mortgages from Fannie Mae with new incentives and financing terms, with additional incentives offered by the GSE that include revised closing costs and a selling bonus for agents.

Mortgage banker group Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative announced Tuesday that Susan Malpocker will helm national correspondent lending and mortgage product services as national sales director, with the hiring of Diane Dunger as regional manager of the Western region. According to the statement, Malpocker rose to her new position by previously serving as regional manager of Lenders One's western region. Prior to her new job, she oversaw services as national client manager, business development specialist and sales manager over the past 20 years with companies like Nexstar Financial Corp. and CitiMortgage. Her new position has the industry veteran heading up member recruitment and the coordination of overall membership services.

The National Association of Realtors released statistics showing a northerly thrust for commercial markets, as job growth and brightening spots in the U.S. economy contributed to a growing level of confidence.

Last week Churchill Mortgage released a statement announcing its expansion into the Houston market, marking a grab for the mortgage company with branches and services in 25 states.

Angling to get ahead of new fears that the U.S. market may veer off-track with European financial markets in a sovereign default scenario, several members of Congress released a statement Thursday that called for the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, citing the vulnerability of growth to changes in international derivatives markets. Recent news reports suggest added risk in the European financial and derivatives markets, which possible sovereign defaults may impact.

The Federal Reserve released a statement today announcing that Mark Bialek will head up internal investigations as inspector general of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

The Senate Banking Committee convened a hearing Tuesday to address concerns that large mortgage lenders continue to edge out their smaller rivals. Lawmakers called the current mortgage system unsustainable.

On Tuesday attorneys general from 48 states and territories aired their concerns about federal overreach in a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, charging that the regulatory agency will sidestep state consumer financial laws and misinterpret the intent of the Dodd-Frank Act if it moves forward with a controversial preemption rule. The letter claimed that existing rules put the OCC in conflict with Dodd-Frank, state consumer financial laws, and past Supreme Court cases.

Following 97 months in federal custody for his role in a high-level money laundering scheme, Thomas Kontogiannis still faces heat in the courts, as he awaits sentencing in July for the part he played in a $92 million mortgage-fraud payout between 2003 and 2007. Prosecutors accuse the former Long Island financier of "mastermind[ing] the largest mortgage origination fraud on record," staging property sales with misrepresented mortgage loans that Kontogiannis sold to lending institutions in the secondary market.