Features

Restoring Market's Faith, One Jumbo Loan at a Time

Redwood Trust Inc., which proved last month that it is once again possible to securitize mortgages without government backing, has made a more serious commitment to reviving the secondary market.

Buyers May Ask Sellers for Reserves

It's still anyone's guess how the 5% MBS risk retention language will play out in the regulatory reform bill, but mortgage bankers that "upstream" product to large correspondent buyers may soon have another worry—something called "funded indemnifications."

Fannie ARM IO Revision Seen Limiting Voluntary Prepay Volatility

New, stricter guidelines for interest-only adjustable-rate mortgages at Fannie Mae could further limit the voluntary prepayment volatility of its existing guarantee book, according to a recent report by FTN Financial.

Solving Problems Through Innovation

Recently, I was involved in a roundtable with mortgage industry leaders discussing technology in all phases of the mortgage process. There were a number of great discussions and insight into technology and its role in the mortgage industry. The one question that triggered numerous discussions and resulted in a lack of consensus among the participants was defining innovation.

Toronto-Dominion to Rest After Deal Spree in South

After Toronto-Dominion Bank agreed Monday to buy South Financial Group Inc. and bought three failed banks in Florida last month, the natural question is: What next?

Bank of America was the HAMP King in April

Bank of America completed more permanent HAMP loan modifications in April than CitiMortgage, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo & Co. combined. A new tally of the Home Affordable Modification Program released by the Treasury Department shows that B of A completed 23,500 HAMP modifications, compared to 8050 for Chase, 6100 for CitiMortgage and 6080 by Wells Fargo. Overall, HAMP servicers completed 68,300 permanent modifications in April, compared to 60,600 in the previous month.

PHH Names Former Chase Executive to Head Mortgage Unit

PHH Corp. on Monday named industry veteran Luke Hayden president of its mortgage division, effective immediately. In a statement PHH said Hayden replaces Mark Danahy, who left the nonbank lender/servicer to "pursue other opportunities."

What We're Hearing

THIS JUST IN: Bank of America appears to be the largest warehouse lender in the nation with roughly $15 billion in commitments. Or not. The number comes from mortgage professionals who attended a recent trade show in Texas. Speaking on a panel, BoA's warehouse chief Paul Syzmanski supposedly revealed the figure to the audience. A call to Mr. Syzmanski from National Mortgage News went unreturned.

More Money for Popular USDA Program?

With rumors mounting that some USDA offices are running out of money to fund its single-family insurance program, a Senate committee has included a premium increase for the Rural Housing Service in an emergency supplemental appropriations bill.