Industry Briefs June 1, 2023
Ginnie Mae to Transition Outstanding LIBOR MBS
Ginnie Mae announced the transition of all outstanding London Interbank Offered Rate mortgage-backed securities to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group’s Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate.
“The applicable spread adjustments will also transition in accordance with all Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act-related regulations and Mortgage Letter 2023-09 issued by the Federal Housing Administration,” Ginnie Mae noted in a release.
The transition will begin following the retirement of LIBOR at the end of June.
Ginnie Mae says it will launch a new SOFR-based pool for annually adjusting home equity conversion mortgages on July 1. Single-family mortgages will remain based on the Constant Maturity Treasury index.
Total Expert Announces New Platform Features
Total Expert, Minneapolis, announced new capabilities for its platform that give financial institutions more visibility.
Total Expert said these include new analytics and reporting functionality to provide insight into campaign results, loan production and loan demographic data to support pipeline and lead management. By bringing together loan activity and marketing, the platform can provide customer-facing teams with visuals to more effectively track leads and centralize data across siloed systems. Total Expert also touted the real-time results provided by its platform.
The company also highlighted updates to its Customer Intelligence solution, including “the new Rate Alert, which lets lenders know when a past customer could benefit from a lower interest rate, uncovering refinancing opportunities as rates drop.”
Williston Financial Group Acquires Doma West Coast Local Retail Title Locations
Williston Financial Group, Portland, Ore., and Doma Holdings, Miami, have announced the signing and closing of an agreement for WFG to acquire certain branches of Doma’s West Coast local retail title operations. The sale specifically involves multiple retail title locations and operations centers in Northern and Central California.
WFG, founded in 2010, has sought to grow its services and reach, and in a release noted “this acquisition significantly expands WFG’s existing market coverage and client base in the vital Northern and Central California regions.”
Kriss Law/Atlantic Closing & Escrow, The Closing Exchange Partner
Kriss Law/Atlantic Closing & Escrow, Needham, Mass., and The Closing Exchange, Torrance, Calif., announced a partnership to deliver home equity conversion mortgage-compliant signing services and expertise to clients nationwide.
KL/ACE clients will gain access to The Closing Exchange’s Elite Reverse Notary Panel, its lender clients will have access to lender-specific training and The Closing Exchange will monitor agents to ensure they are following a lender’s unique and specific closing expectations and guidelines. Also, each lender will have specific staff members dedicated to it.
“With the aging of the Baby Boomer generation and continued volatility of the overall economy, reverse mortgages–particularly HECMs–are emerging as a favored product for top mortgage lenders and the demand is only rising,” said The Closing Exchange CEO Alan Frelix.
