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March 28, 2008

Housing Starts Feb. 08

Posted by S. Germain at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)

First American CoreLogic Releases January 2008 LoanPerformance House Price Index

First American CoreLogic announced the release of its January 2008 LoanPerformance Home Price Index (HPI).

The LoanPerformance HPI provides a comprehensive set of monthly home
price indices and median sales prices covering 7,488 ZIP codes, 957 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA) and 670 counties located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The indices, which are the most comprehensive available in the industry, are reported to clients five weeks after each full month ends. (For a state-by-state maps, visit http://www.loanperformance.com/assets/images/pr0308_3mo_lg.jpg (3-month map) and http://www.loanperformance.com/assets/images/pr0308_12mo_lg.jpg
(12-month map).

Posted by S. Germain at 08:38 AM | Comments (0)

First American eAppraiseIT Introduces Data Assist

First American eAppraiseIT is now offering Data Assist, a new valuation tool for lenders and servicers that need quick, low-cost, accurate values for credit decisions, loss mitigation, portfolio analysis and quality assurance.

Data Assist is a faster and less expensive alternative to a traditional appraisal. The standard Data Assist report verifies a property’s legal address and ownership and includes three closed sale comparables from the subject property’s market area. For a more comprehensive analysis, Data Assist with Listings offers the same information, plus three current listings that are similar to the subject property.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)

Fidelity National University Now Offers Free Online Training

Fidelity National Financial, Inc., has announced that free training for Paragon 4 MLS, the Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions (FNRES) platform used on many U.S. Multiple Listings Services, is now available through Fidelity National University, an online education and training service for real estate professionals located at fidelitynationalu.com.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:16 AM | Comments (0)

Interthinx Ensures Mini-Jumbo Compliance

Interthinx Inc., has expanded its PredProtect product to allow for loan-level regulatory compliance in order to respond to regional differences in limits for "mini-jumbo" conforming loans. The tool handles loans between $417,000 and $729,000 in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., without waiting for system enhancements or upgrades, the company said.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)

Best Launches Title, Mortgage Guaranty Center

A.M. Best Co., has announced the launch of Best's Title & Mortgage Guaranty Center, a Web portal that provides access to information generated by the company on title insurance and the mortgage guaranty industry. Content available on the site includes Best's ratings of title insurers, links to Best's rating methodology documents and relevant industry research, and news stories related to the title industry from A.M. Best's news publications. Best's Title & Mortgage Guaranty Center can be found on the Web at http://www.ambest.com/title.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:12 AM | Comments (0)

'08 Mortgage Fraud Losses Forecast at $2.5B

Losses from mortgage fraud will reach $2.5 billion in 2008 and comparable losses will continue for several years thereafter, according to new research from TowerGroup. TowerGroup anticipates that lenders will respond by deploying technology to assist in the detection and prevention of mortgage fraud and that their annual spending on such tools will reach several hundred million dollars in the next few years.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)

DocuSign Surpasses Eight Million Electronic Signatures Milestone

DocuSign today announced that it has completed more than eight million signature events since its launch in 2005. More than 70 percent of these eight million eSignatures were completed during the past 12 months alone, demonstrating the rapidly accelerating adoption of DocuSign.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:06 AM | Comments (0)

Kroll Factual Data Releases Innovative Mortgage Loan Employment and Income Risk Assessment Service

Kroll Factual Data announced an expansion of its suite of risk assessment services with the release of ActionFacts. ActionFacts uses a cutting-edge, proprietary risk assessment engine to comprehensively verify and assess applicant income and employment information as well as assets and liabilities.

An expansion of its successful risk assessment services, ActionFacts completes the suite of services which include FactualID, CollateralFacts and FullFacts. FactualID identifies borrower misrepresentation; CollateralFacts protects lenders against property value misrepresentation; and FullFacts identifies loan party collusion, conflict of interest, and non arms length transactions for every participant involved in a mortgage loan.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:02 AM | Comments (0)

GMD, Associated Software Consultants Build Interface

Guardian Mortgage Documents (GMD) says it is building an interface with Associated Software Consultants' (ASC) PowerLender loan origination system (LOS) to offer more document flexibility to its lender clients.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)

Cogent Road Debuts Score Protection With Funding Suite

Cogent Road, a provider of Internet-based applications for the mortgage industry, has launched Score Protection, Funding Suite's newest technology offering that eliminates additional inquiries by protecting any of the scores in a preexisting credit file provided the original file is less than 30 days old.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:58 AM | Comments (0)

iMortgage Services Introduces PropertySmart

iMortgage Services LLC (iMS) has launched a comprehensive solution, the iMS PropertySmart platform, to help mortgage companies ensure compliance with the new government-sponsored enterprise Home Valuation Code of Conduct, which mandates the use of independent and unbiased appraisals.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:56 AM | Comments (0)

Billionaire Purchases Option One Mortgage

H&R Block Inc. has agreed to part with its Option One Mortgage Corp. loan servicing subsidiary in a deal inked with WL Ross & Co. LLC — a platform run by billionaire investor Wilbur L. Ross Jr. The transaction, which is the second major subprime-related transaction headed by Ross in the last year, is valued at $1.1 billion.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:54 AM | Comments (0)

Sen. McCain Contrasts Clinton: No Bailout for the Irresponsible

Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain drew significant contrasts between his plan for settling the mortgage crisis and that of Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

McCain said he pushes for greater accountability and transparency in lending and believes lenders who initiated poorly underwritten loans should be held accountable, as well as those homeowners who misstated information on loan applications to gain a mortgage.

In addition, McCain is asking for a return to the philosophy that down payments should be required during the purchase of a home and opposes proposals to push down initial down payment requirements on FHA mortgages.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:52 AM | Comments (0)

Fannie Mae Tightens Loan Restrictions

To minimize credit losses, Fannie Mae recently made policy changes that could make it more difficult for borrowers in markets experiencing home-price declines to refinance into less expensive loans. The changes prohibit borrowers from obtaining cash-out refinancings to repay second mortgages, allowing them to use equity only to repay first mortgages, prepaid interest or closing costs.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)

Clinton Details Mortgage Plan

On March 24, Hillary Clinton rolled out a four-part plan that supports a federal mortgage auction system under legislation proposed by Rep. Frank, and Sen. Dodd,; but she goes further by calling for the FHA to supplement the auction plan by purchasing problem mortgages as necessary. Clinton's proposal also calls for enhanced protection for mortgage servicers from investor lawsuits as a way to bolster loan restructuring efforts, a $30 billion initiative to eliminate blight by permitting cities and states to snap up foreclosed homes and a nonpartisan housing panel, with members including former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:46 AM | Comments (0)

Existing-Home Sales Rise as Prices Plummet

The NAR reports that sales of previously owned homes rose an unexpected 2.9 percent in February as buyers took advantage of the large supply of properties on the market that were available at low prices. The median sales price of existing homes last month was $195,900--down 8.2 percent from $213,500 a year earlier--and also represented the biggest decline since 1999, when NAR started tracking the data.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:44 AM | Comments (0)

Washington Sees Several Fronts for Attacking Mortgage Crisis

With regard to housing, proposals in both the House and the Senate would allow the FHA to refinance problem loans after lenders or investors agree to forgive a portion of the principal; $300 billion in refinances would occur under the plan promoted by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, while $400 billion in government insurance would be provided for refinancings under a proposal from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd.

However, the Bush administration continues to push for borrowers and lenders to work problems out amongst themselves, with Congress taking steps to pass FHA modernization legislation and beefing up regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Other proposals would bolster mortgage counseling funds, offer tax relief to home builders and allow the Federal Home Loan Banks to buy $160 billion in mortgage-backed securities.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:41 AM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2008

Existing Home Sales Jan. 08

Posted by S. Germain at 08:49 AM | Comments (0)

First American eAppraiseIT Offers Streamlined Version of Its Value Reconciliation Service Product

First American eAppraiseIT is now offering a low-cost, one-page value reconciliation report that will help default and real estate owned (REO) managers make loss mitigation and pre-foreclosure decisions.

The new offering, VRR Lite, like eAppraiseIT’s original value reconciliation service, will give clients a better understanding of the reasons for differences between origination appraisals and subsequent loan servicing valuations and assist in the analysis of loan portfolios, retrospective value reviews, pre-closing and post-closing value opinions and appraisal panel reviews. VRR Lite offers lenders better visibility into the true value of their assets in pre-foreclosure situations, alerts them to indications of fraud and helps them develop more accurate bids for foreclosure sales and initial listing prices for REO properties.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:48 AM | Comments (0)

Mid-Florida Regional MLS Chooses MarketLinx to Serve 37,000 Members

MarketLinx, Inc. today announced that it has renewed its multiple listing service (MLS) agreement with the Mid-Florida Regional MLS (MFRMLS), which is in the process of expanding services to five neighboring REALTOR® organizations. Once the expansion is complete, the Mid-Florida MLXchange MLS system will serve approximately 37,000 users from 13 separate real estate organizations, making it the largest MLXchange customer and one of the largest MLS systems in North America. MFRMLS also selected MarketLinx’s Membership Director product to replace its current membership management system.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:47 AM | Comments (0)

Stewart unit unveils touch-screen technology

A division of Stewart Information Services Corp. has launched a touch-screen technology for real estate closings. The company's TouchSign technology and Touch-to-Close software will begin deploying through Stewart's extensive network of offices and agencies this month, the company said.

TouchSign allows consumers to navigate through their closing documents by simply touching a finger to the TouchSign screens to provide their consent and signature for closing documents.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:45 AM | Comments (0)

DRI Web Enables Default Management

DRI Management Systems has planned to launch RINCON, a Web-enabled default management application. DRI talked about how RINCON helps servicers better manage defaults by using Web services to offer easy deployment, a more robust workflow, letters, forms and spreadsheets embedded in the workflow, automated connection between third parties, an exception-based setup to allow for a more automated process and an upgraded loss mitigation decisioning model.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:40 AM | Comments (0)

Real-Time ID Verification Now Possible

Rapid Reporting's DirectCheck product will be providing instant verification of Social Security numbers direct from the Social Security Administration for the first time in the mortgage industry. By adding immediate Social Security number verification to the other real-time components of DirectCheck, the industry now has a stronger, better way to reduce fraud at origination

Posted by S. Germain at 08:38 AM | Comments (0)

PushMX Software and Equity National Title Announce Strategic Partnership

Equity National Title, a national title and settlement service provider, and PushMX Software, an automated workflow solutions provider, have created a strategic partnership to provide access to title services through PushMX Production.

PushMX’s service provider interface allows users to order services during the loan process as well as track fulfillment through PushMX Production.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:34 AM | Comments (0)

Guardian Mortgage Documents (GMD) and Associated Software Consultants, Inc. (ASC) Build an Interface to offer Lenders Documents Through PowerLender Loan Processing Software

Guardian Mortgage Documents announced here at the MBA National Technology in Mortgage Banking conference that it is building an interface with Associated Software Consultants' PowerLender loan origination system to offer more document flexibility to its lender clients.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:29 AM | Comments (0)

ChoicePoint's MARI Introduces New Loan Fraud Alert Service

The Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), a ChoicePoint company, has released its new MARI Loan Fraud Alert Service (LFAS). MARI LFAS is a mortgage industry-contributed loan process database that enables lenders and investors to identify potential application risk, patterns of fraud and hidden relationships among transaction parties.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:25 AM | Comments (0)

JPMorgan Chase To Acquire Bear Stearns

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is acquiring The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. in a stock-for-stock exchange. Based on the closing price of March 15, the transaction would have a value of approximately $2 per share.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:23 AM | Comments (0)

Ellie Mae Introduces CenterWise

Ellie Mae has launched CenterWise, an all-in-one electronic document management (EDM) and retail Web site package, available as a service through the Encompass Mortgage Management Solution.

CenterWise provides unlimited electronic document management, including all state-specific disclosures, delivery and archiving, along with a professional, scalable and search engine-friendly WebCenter Web site and secure online business center that enables communication among staff, borrowers and business partners, for a monthly subscription fee.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:22 AM | Comments (0)

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Introduces New Doc Solution

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has launched a new mortgage document solution, the Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Simplified Mortgage to help lenders and borrowers make the closing process for first-mortgage and home-equity loans simpler while complying with all federal and state regulatory requirements.

Through a U.S. patent-pending business process, the current recordable mortgage document is split into two content pieces: The first piece is a two- to three-page recordable instrument that contains all information required to create a valid lien and fully comply with the recording requirements of each state. The second piece is a non-recordable supplement that outlines a loan's standard covenants between the lender and borrower.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:19 AM | Comments (0)

MRG Now Offers Electronic Disclosures

MRG Document Technologies has added the ability to send disclosures to its customers in an electronic format. MRG says it can now route eDisclosure documents that are secure, electronically signable and fully compliant with all federal and state regulations.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

DocuTech, Gallagher Partner To Improve eDoc Services

DocuTech and Gallagher Financial Systems Inc. (GFS) have signed a contract which will integrate DocuTech's Web-based document solution, ConformX, with GFS' NetOxygen loan origination software (LOS).

Posted by S. Germain at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

Zaio Inc. Announces “Preferred Appraiser” Status

Zaio Inc. announced that Veros Real Estate Solutions has named the company a “preferred appraiser.” The designation of “preferred appraiser” allows Zaio the opportunity to serve Veros customers with accurate and timely appraisals, while also providing them with a direct link to property valuation information through Zaio's database.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

FAS Doubles Size in REO-Focused Marketplace

Field Asset Services (FAS), a property preservation and REO maintenance and services provider, has nearly doubled its size and has added new key clients—including Fannie Mae, Keystone and IndyMac Bank—to accomodate today's foreclosure-riddled marketplace.

The company, which had 100 full-time employees in January of 2007, has grown its staff to 264 members and expects to fill 335 positions by the end of this year.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:14 AM | Comments (0)

Bid to Regulate Reverse Mortgages Stalls in House

Some state lawmakers in Arizona have joined the mortgage and banking industry in opposing a bill sponsored by Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford, chair of the House Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance, that would regulate reverse mortgages. HB 2506--which would require disclosures of all terms, including interest rates and fees, and ban the practice of requiring a homeowner to buy an annuity as part of the deal--stalled in the House.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)

US Mortgage Lenders to Pump $200 Bln Into Markets

Efforts are being made to pump liquidity into the mortgage markets to ease the credit crunch and head off a recession. A decision by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator to ease capital requirements will pump $200 billion into the markets, while additional liquidity is expected if the regulator of the Federal Home Loan Bank System approves a plan to increase some mortgage holdings two-fold to approximately $300 billion.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:10 AM | Comments (0)

Fed Cuts Key Interest Rate

The Federal Reserve has reduced the federal funds rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, to 2.25 percent, in an effort to lower interest rates across the board, alleviate the credit crunch and prevent the economy from sliding into recession. The central bank also slashed the discount rate to 2.5 percent. The federal funds rate and the discount rate stood at 5.25 percent and 6.25 percent, respectively, last August; but the Fed's cuts since then have not produced the effect policymakers had anticipated because many banks have not respond by lowering rates on mortgages, credit card debt and business loans.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:08 AM | Comments (0)

Investor Buying Option One

H&R Block's mortgage servicing unit, Option One, will be acquired by investor Wilbur Ross Jr. of WL Ross & Company for $1.1 billion. The purchase price includes $41 million for Option One's servicing rights and $65 million for other servicing-related assets valued at $85 million. After he snaps up Option One's $53 billion portfolio, Ross will be second only to Countywide Financial in the ranks of the nation's biggest subprime mortgage servicers.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:06 AM | Comments (0)

HUD Official Says Respa Reform Can't Wait

The public comment period on HUD's proposed revisions to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ends May 13, but more than a half dozen trade groups representing the mortgage industry insist that more time is needed to review the nearly 300-page document. A proposal formally introduced on March 14 would create a four-page, standard good-faith estimate detailing settlement costs and loan terms; it would limit how much closing costs can rise at the settlement table, and it also call for legislation that would beef up HUD's enforcement powers. The agency says borrowers would save an average $518 to $670 per transaction, or $6.5 billion to $8.4 billion per year overall, if the rules are implemented.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:03 AM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2008

Countrywide and Payment Option ARMs

Posted by S. Germain at 08:46 AM | Comments (0)

First American CREDCO Makes Integrating Easier

First American CREDCO has launched Connect Web services technology to enable smoother integrations. Connect provides a secure electronic interface to a wide range of new products available from First American, including identity validation, compliance, and consumer credit solutions. One of the most notable additions available on the Connect interface is the electronic automation of Anthem, First American's nontraditional mortgage credit report and scoring system for loan applicants having little or no traditional credit history.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)

MDA announces strategic acquisition in the U.S. financial services sector

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. announced a strategic expansion of its Information Products business in the United States. The Company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain lender solution businesses from TransUnion LLC's Real Estate Services division.

The acquired business includes collateral valuation solutions, property search solutions, mortgage credit solutions, closing solutions, and flood compliance solutions, all of which are designed to drive time, cost, and risk out of the residential lending cycle.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:39 AM | Comments (0)

MARI Finds Fraud Spread More Evenly

Although Florida remains a hotbed for mortgage fraudsters, the crime is becoming more evenly spread among all states as opposed to being concentrated in just a few, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. MARI's 10th period fraud case report also found that while the most common types of fraud continue to involve erroneous employment histories and false income statements, the failure to disclose debts, liens, or judgments is an up-and-coming problem.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:36 AM | Comments (0)

FNC(R) Platforms Ensure Lenders Comply with New Fannie/Freddie Guidelines

Officials of mortgage technology company FNC, Inc. said they have industry-proven platforms that will ensure mortgage lenders comply with new Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac rules spelling out how home appraisals can be conducted.

The company's Collateral Management System for enterprise lenders and its Collateral Headquarters platform designed for regional and community banks are the solutions mortgage lenders will need when the new rules take effect Jan. 1.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:33 AM | Comments (0)

BancTec Acquires Regional Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Leader DocuData Solutions

BancTec has acquired DocuData Solutions, an imaging, content management and media storage business process outsourcing (BPO) services provider with operations centers throughout Texas. The acquisition supports BancTec's strategy to expand its BPO business worldwide, adding 3 Texas processing centers to its 4 existing U.S. sites and 11 European sites.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:32 AM | Comments (0)

$11 Billion in Mortgage Loan Applications Called Into Question by Interthinx

Interthinx® announced that company analysts have uncovered more than 42,000 mortgage applications, totaling nearly $11 billion, containing significant misrepresentations of the borrowers' income. These applications were all originated and submitted for Interthinx review in the last six months of 2007.

The loans were discovered when Interthinx analysts determined that its FLEX (FraudNET Loan Exchange) program had generated 42,610 Income alerts.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:27 AM | Comments (0)

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Introduces Disclosure Manager

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has launched Disclosure Manager, an automated solution designed to replace a lender's paper-based home loan disclosure process. Disclosure Manager allows lenders to automate the entire initial loan disclosure process, from document creation to the secure electronic delivery of documents to borrowers for e-consent or e-signature, the company says. In addition, Disclosure Manager allows lenders to completely and securely outsource the printing and mailing of paper disclosures when needed or requested by the borrower through Wolters Kluwer Financial Services' SAS70-certified mail fulfillment center.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:23 AM | Comments (0)

InsideValuation: Taking Default Risk Analytics A Step Further

InsideValuation said that its strategic partnership with International Financing Engineering Group has produced a product that allows mortgage risk managers the ability to more effectively identify the risk of a loan defaulting. The tool does this by analyzing specific median home prices, property location, buyer behavior, affordability, unemployment and rent-versus-price ratios for the homes in question. Zip codes and property location play a significant role in the tool's ability to detect risk.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:22 AM | Comments (0)

National City Corp. on the Market?

With the credit crunch causing millions of dollars in subprime-related losses, National City Corp. is looking for an escape route by putting the company up for sale, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. The business publication said it interviewed sources close to the situation to confirm news of a potential sale. National City Corp. experienced a trying fourth quarter after posting a $333 million loss.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:20 AM | Comments (0)

Countrywide Delinquencies Drop

Countrywide Financial reports a decrease in delinquencies to 7.44 percent of mortgages in February from 7.47 percent the prior month. Delinquencies were up substantially, however, from 4.48 percent in February 2007. Meanwhile, the Calabasas, Calif.-based lender recorded a jump in foreclosures to 1.64 percent from 1.48 percent in January and from 0.80 percent in February 2007.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

White House Offers Plan to Ward Off Credit Crisis

The Bush administration wants states to issue licensing standards for mortgage brokers, lenders to provide more information on payment terms to home buyers and companies to limit conflicts of interest in assigning levels of risk to mortgage securities sold to investors. The White House sees the proposal, which was welcomed by industry representatives, as having the potential to prevent future problems in the credit markets. Federal banking and securities regulators and new committees run by industry executives will issue regulations in the next few months to execute the plan, while federal legislation might be crafted to tighten rules for mortgage brokers.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:17 AM | Comments (0)

Mortgage Application Fees May Rise on Appraisal Reform

Borrowers can expect to see an increase in mortgage application fees beginning in 2009, when a new agreement that New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo reached with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac takes effect. In an effort to crack down on inflated appraisals, Cuomo hammered out a pact that calls for the government-sponsored enterprises to buy mortgages only from lenders that use independent appraisers and for separate appraisals to be submitted for each lender that a borrower applies to. The cost will be passed on to consumers, and a borrower who chooses to shop around might have to pay as much as $1,000 to $2,000 in appraisal fees for loans submitted--compared to about $400 previously--and might even lose the lower interest rates they had locked in for 30 days because turning in applications individually is time-consuming.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

Latest Trouble Spot for Banks: Souring Home-Equity Loans

Declining residential values are leaving banks with little or nothing to collect on many home-equity loans in case of default. Equifax Inc. and Moody's Economy.com report that nearly 4.65 percent of all fixed-rate home-equity loans were delinquent in last year's October-through-December period, an increase from 3.11 percent during the fourth quarter of 2006. Doug Duncan, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association, forecasts, "We will continue to see banks increasing reserves for their home-equity portfolios and tightening their home-equity policies, changing their credit standards in response to price declines."

Posted by S. Germain at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)

Fed Announces $200-Billion Securities Swaps to Help

The Federal Reserve surprised many this week with its decision to begin temporarily lending major banks and brokerages as much as $200 billion in U.S. Treasury securities that it owns. In exchange, the Fed will receive mortgage-backed securities, many of which have lost value because of market jitters over the rising number of loan defaults. Central bank officials hope that, armed with rock-solid Treasury bonds, financial firms will return to normal lending and investing practices and that the credit crisis will subsequently level off.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)

National Database Captures Property Values

Zaio Corp., has developed an Appraisal Knowledge Warehouse, a database that seeks to provide fair and accurate appraisals to the industry.

Zaio's goal is to photograph, inspect and appraise every home in the U.S. The company mandates that its 140 million property records, of which 90 million are residential, be updated at least every 30 days. Using new listing data and sales data, appraisers are provided with guidelines on appraisal values.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:11 AM | Comments (0)

Mortgage Mess Becomes Prime Territory for Law Firms

Navigant Consulting Inc. says civil lawsuits tied to the subprime mortgage crisis totaled 278 in 2007, and experts believe mounting subprime losses will push the total number of cases above the 559 filed during the savings and loan crisis. Of last year's cases, 43 percent involved allegations of predatory lending, and 22 percent involved securities.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:10 AM | Comments (0)

Mortgage Lenders See More Borrowers Give Up

Mortgage lenders report that many borrowers whose mortgage balances exceed the value of their homes are making no attempts to iron out new payment plans and simply are walking away, especially in Florida, California, Nevada and other states plagued by substantial home-price declines. Freddie Mac reports that more than 50 percent of foreclosures involve borrowers who failed to respond to letters and calls from their lenders, and the Mortgage Bankers Association notes that 18 percent of foreclosures in the fall of 2007 involved absentee owners.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:06 AM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2008

New Home Sales Jan. 08

Posted by S. Germain at 08:52 AM | Comments (0)

First American CoreLogic Releases Latest LoanPerformance MarketPulse Report

First American CoreLogic today announced that the latest issue of its LoanPerformance MarketPulse report is available for download at www.loanperformance.com.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:51 AM | Comments (0)

First American CoreLogic Announces 2008 LoanPerformance Symposium Series

First American CoreLogic today announced the dates and locations for its 7th annual complimentary LoanPerformance Symposium Series on emerging mortgage loan and collateral risk issues and trends.

Read the entire story here.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:49 AM | Comments (0)

BB&T Selects Fidelity National Information Services’ ACBS Commercial Lending Solutions

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. and BB&T Corporation announced that BB&T has selected FIS’ Advanced Commercial Banking Systems (ACBS®) to support its growing capital markets syndications and participations business.

BB&T will deploy the ACBS Origination, Servicing and DataMart solutions to efficiently originate and service commercial loans. FIS’ ACBS Lending Solutions are an integrated family of commercial lending products that automate the entire range of commercial lending activity – from deal origination, syndication and servicing to trading, settlement and portfolio reporting.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:31 AM | Comments (0)

Community Bank Mortgage Product Unveiled

ICBA Mortgage, the mortgage corporation of the Independent Community Bankers of America, and its partner Taylor, Bean Whitaker Mortgage Corp. have unveiled their newest product offering for community banks: Complete Mortgage Solutions. CMS gives ICBA member banks access to "consultative services that deliver a comprehensive blueprint for mortgage success -- from operational workflow, staffing, and training to technology, marketing, and mortgage products," said Terry Jorde, chairman of ICBA Mortgage.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:27 AM | Comments (0)

TSS Software Enhances TitleExpress

TSS Software Corp., a software provider to the settlement services industry, has announced enhancements to its flagship product, TitleExpress. Among the enhancements are integrations with Calyx's Point loan origination system, reporting for United General Title Insurance Co., and the addition of iOrderOpen.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:27 AM | Comments (0)

Delinquencies Hit 23-Year High

The overall home mortgage delinquency rate jumped to 5.82% in the fourth quarter, the highest level since 1985, according to the national delinquency survey of the Mortgage Bankers Association. When the foreclosure inventory is added to the delinquency rate, nearly 8% of all homeowners with a mortgage were not making payments in the fourth quarter.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:24 AM | Comments (0)

Citi to Reduce Mortgage Holdings by $45B

Citigroup disclosed plans to reduce its on-balance-sheet mortgage holdings by $45 billion over the next year, or 20% of its total portfolio. Officials in Citi's mortgage division told MortgageWire that it will not be selling loans per se, but instead will try to achieve the reduction through normal portfolio runoff. Citi also clarified that it will remain a retail, wholesale, and correspondent lender but will no longer buy mortgages in bulk packages.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:24 AM | Comments (0)

First Preston Chooses eMASON to Provide Automated Process Workflow

eMASON, Inc., announced today that eMASON and First Preston have formed a technology relationship to benefit joint customers. eMASON Clarifire® process automation will be used in conjunction with First Preston's technology provider HomeTracker® in order to connect First Preston's workflow and communications with other default related processes running in Clarifire. This connectivity will streamline processes by eliminating hand offs and provide easy visibility for their clients.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:22 AM | Comments (0)

BancTec Acquires Regional Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Leader DocuData Solutions

BancTec, a global provider of advanced, high volume document and payment processing solutions and services, has acquired DocuData Solutions, an imaging, content management and media storage business process outsourcing (BPO) services provider with operations centers throughout Texas. The acquisition supports BancTec's strategy to expand its BPO business worldwide, adding 3 Texas processing centers to its 4 existing U.S. sites and 11 European sites.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:18 AM | Comments (0)

BMC Software Investments Inc. Acquires Loan-Score Decisioning Systems LLC

BMC Software Investments Inc., a Southeastern-based investment firm, announced that it has acquired Loan-Score Decisioning Systems LLC, an emerging leader in enterprise-class automated underwriting solutions. The acquisition positions Loan-Score to become a dominant player in the financial services industry for next-generation decisioning and risk management solutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:17 AM | Comments (0)

Zenta Expands To South Carolina

Zenta, a New York-based business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing company, has established a 35,000 square-foot operations center in Florence, S.C., and will employ up to 250 people.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:08 AM | Comments (0)

GenEquity Mortgage Selects Guardian Mortgage Services

GenEquity Mortgage Inc., a division of Paragon Global Resources, has selected Guardian Mortgage Services (GMS) to provide closing, loan funding, line management and post-closing services to support its exiting business and its new national retail operation.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:07 AM | Comments (0)

MRG Offers One-Time Close Construction/Permanent Loan Closing Documentation

MRG Document Technologies has developed one-time close construction/permanent closing documentation for both conventional and Federal Housing Administration residential loans.

This one-time close documentation is available for both traditional construction as well as manufactured housing construction for all 50 states. Because MRG's in-house compliance attorneys developed the document packages with the consultation of local attorneys for each specific state jurisdiction, each document set is in full compliance with all federal and state lending requirements, the company notes.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:06 AM | Comments (0)

INTEGRA Software Systems Selects CSi System

INTEGRA Software Systems, a provider of residential mortgage software, has elected to integrate Compliance Systems Inc.'s (CSi) IntelleDoc Solutions, a comprehensive dynamic documentation system for its bank, credit union and mortgage lending customers.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:05 AM | Comments (0)

OCC Asks Major Banks for Loan Data

America’s leading regulator of national banks sent letters recently to nine major banking platforms asking them to supply loan data each month. The request, which came from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), was issued so the regulatory agency will be able to analyze mortgage data and utilize the findings to help distressed homeowners. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said the data collection initiative was designed “in order to assure that we have a detailed picture of the activities of national bank servicers and the performance of loans serviced by them.”

Posted by S. Germain at 08:04 AM | Comments (0)

Increase in Conforming Loan Limits Sets In

HUD announced that it is increasing FHA conforming loan limits temporarily to provide liquidity to a sluggish real estate market, according to a HUD press release.

The temporary maximum limit is $729,750. Only homeowners needing safer loan options in high-cost metropolitan areas will be eligible for the higher cost loans. The lower limit is $271,050.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:02 AM | Comments (0)

Merrill Shuts Unit Making Home Loans

Merrill Lynch has announced the closure of its First Franklin Financial unit and the loss of 650 jobs as a result. The firm decided to shutter the subprime lending unit due to market deterioration, but officials note that its Merrill Lynch Credit Corp. and international mortgage operations will continue to write prime mortgages.

Posted by S. Germain at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)

Fed Likely to Cut Rates Sharply Again

The Federal Reserve is likely to implement an additional interest-rate cut in a few weeks as the housing downturn and credit crunch continue to worsen, with the degree of the cut likely to be debated at a March 18 meeting of Fed policy makers. It is not likely that the Fed will consider a three-quarter-percentage-point rate cut in light of the current economic situation, unless markets or economic data show a marked degradation over the next two weeks.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:59 AM | Comments (0)

In Deal With Cuomo, Mortgage Giants Accept Appraisal Standards

Effective in 2009, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will no longer purchase mortgages from lenders that use in-house appraisers, subsidiaries or affiliated companies to value homes, as part of an agreement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The deal represents a victory for Cuomo, however, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers warned that the deal could hurt competition, and the Office of Thrift Supervision expressed concern that "the closed-door fashion in which it was reached could result in negative unintended consequences." Also under the agreement, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will contribute $24 million to establish the Independent Valuation Protection Institute, which will be tasked with investigating consumer and appraiser complaints and ensuring that the new rules are enforced.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:51 AM | Comments (0)

Broadened Respa Plan Attracting More Critics

The 271-page plan proposed by HUD to reform RESPA is broader than a proposal considered in 2007, drawing more scrutiny from the real estate industry. The latest proposal calls for a standardized good-faith estimate spelling out such details as the initial interest rate and monthly payment, the possibility of a rising balance and whether or not property taxes are put in escrow. Additionally, limits would be imposed on fees charged by lenders to prepare the estimate, and settlement costs could not exceed the estimate by more than 10 percent; however, the proposal calls for eliminating the 1-percent limit on fees in exchange for more transparency when writing FHA loans.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:50 AM | Comments (0)

Countrywide's Mortgage Woes Deepen

In its yearly filing with the Securities and Exchange Committee, Countrywide Financial Corp. reported a substantial jump in defaulted option adjustable-rate mortgages and steep losses tied to obligations on home-equity lines of credit. Countrywide reported a surge in option ARMs in its portfolio that are 90 days or more late to 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 from 0.6 percent the prior year. The lender also disclosed that minimum payments on these option ARMs were made by 71 percent of borrowers, and income documentation before origination was required for just 20 percent of borrowers. Additionally, homes in hard-hit Florida and California account for 50 percent of the company's $87.04 billion mortgage portfolio.

Posted by S. Germain at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)