Shed Light on Fair Lending to Avoid Compliance Blind Spots

National Mortgage News, Mar. 9, 2016–Karen, Ari
New products and technology can help assure lenders that borrowers better understand their options and participate in lending decisions in real time during the origination process, and track and record those efforts for later use.

Private-Label Securities Market Languishes at 90% Off Peak

HousingWire, Mar. 9, 2016–Swanson, Brena
The private-label securities market stands nowhere close to where it used to over the past eight years. The Urban Institute addresses in a blog what’s going on in the PLS market, along with the areas that need still need a lot of groundwork in order to revive the market.

MGIC: Primary New Mortgage Insurance Grows 5.5% from Last Year

HousingWire, Mar. 9, 2016–Thompson, Kelsey
Primary new mortgage insurance grew 5.5% from last year, inching up from $165.8 billion to $174.9 billion, MGIC Investment’s February operational summery of its insurance subsidiaries for its primary mortgage insurance reported.

U.S. Mortgage Bankers Brace For A Wave of Refinancings

Bloomberg, Mar. 10, 2016
With U.S. mortgage rates near their lowest level since April and showing signs of falling further, some lenders are preparing for another refinancing wave, an unexpected development after the Federal Reserve began hiking short-term interest rates in December.

How the Big Bank Mortgage Settlements Help Homeowners

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 10, 2016–Rexrode, Christina; Glazer, Emily
Billions of dollars from bank settlements are going to homeowners–but the path to get it into their hands can be complicated.

What Crisis? Big Ratings Firms Stronger Than Ever

Wall Street Journal, Mar. 10, 2016–Martin, Timothy W.
S&P, Moody’s and Fitch issue more than 95% of global bond ratings, and profits are nearing record highs.

Subprime Securitization Is Back, But It’s Not What It Was

National Mortgage News, Mar. 10, 2016–Sinnock, Bonnie
QRM clarified the rules of the road for securitizations. Now, participants in the MBS world seeking better margins are looking beyond the safe harbor–to the subprime space.