Tag Archives: Wells Fargo

Fannie Mae and Wells Fargo have reached an agreement that will close the book on a number of problem legacy loans, both companies announced. According to the separate announcements, Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $591 million to Fannie Mae to resolve repurchase requests on certain loans originated prior to 2009. Adjusting for prior repurchases, the bank will pay $541 million in Q4 2013. In its own statement, Wells Fargo said it had fully accrued for the cost of the agreement as of the end of the third quarter.

According to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), builder sentiment picked up in December to end the year at 58. The index first climbed to that level in August before falling to 57 in September and 54 in October and November. After struggling through most of the year's first half, the headline index climbed above the 50 mark in June for the first time since 2006; it has stayed in the 50-range ever since.

Joseph A. Smith, the monitor overseeing servicers' compliance with last year's National Mortgage Settlement, filed reports on how the institutions involved with the settlement are dealing with the agreement. "My testing confirmed six fails in the first quarter of 2013 and one in the second quarter of 2013," Smith said in a statement issued Wednesday, adding that the "banks are all taking action to address the failures through detailed corrective action plans."

According to Change Sciences' findings, mortgage sites as a whole are "less usable" than sites providing traditional e-commerce offerings, such as Amazon and Walmart. Compared to other financial sites, mortgage domains rank about average; they fall short when put against personal finance sites. "Many mortgage sites are missing an opportunity to establish a meaningful rapport with mortgage shoppers," Change Sciences said in its report.

Builder confidence remained flat in the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) November report, with a slight majority of builders saying market conditions are promising. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) came out to 54 this month, unchanged from October's downwardly revised reading. An index value above 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor; November marks the sixth straight month in which confidence has hovered above the neutral mark.

Customer satisfaction with mortgage loan originators reached a seven-year high this year with Quicken Loans earning the highest ranking for the fourth year in a row, according to the J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. Five originators earned scores above the industry average. Topping the list was Quicken Loans with a score of 841 out of 1000. The remaining four lenders to outrank the industry average are BB&T (798), U.S. Bank (783), PNC Mortgage (778), and Chase (773).

When it comes to next year's regulatory obstacles, CEOs and senior executives from the mortgage industry's biggest players agree on one thing: Education will be key to keeping business going. In a panel at the 2013 Realtors Conference and Expo, high-level names from Quicken Loans, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America discussed the qualified mortgage (QM) guidelines. While the initial implementation of these rules is expected to restrict lending in the short-term, panelists agreed that business should even out.

Joseph A. Smith, the monitor overseeing fulfillment efforts put forward by each servicer involved in the National Mortgage Settlement, has issued a report on their progress satisfying consumer relief obligations outlined in the agreement. Smith's report covers servicer activities through December 31, 2012, which have been vetted and verified by the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight. Each servicer's internal review group provided Smith with information on the servicers' crediting progress in February of this year.

Builder confidence fell again in October but remained north of neutral, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Wednesday in its Housing Market Index (HMI) report. Despite declining for the second straight month, the index has hovered above the neutral mark for five consecutive months now, and NAHB reports seeing signs of pent-up demand in many markets across the country. Furthermore, the association believes October's drop represents a temporary blip.

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase both released their earnings summaries for the third quarter on Friday, revealing the full toll that legal expenses have taken on the latter's profits.