Life Cos.’ Mortgage Returns Rebound

GlobeSt.com, Jan. 15, 2016–Bubny, Paul
Returns on commercial mortgage loans held by life insurance companies made a strong recovery in the third quarter, LifeComps said Friday.

Why Dodd-Frank Is Helping Large Lenders

National Mortgage News, Jan. 15, 2016–Gillen, Kevin
The author, general manager with TD Bank, said as the purchasing market heats up, the earnings advantage will go to MLOs who are backed by mortgage lenders that have a strong brand, deep pockets and an infrastructure that can support competitive rates, on-time closings and a suite of products that appeal to market needs.

Goldman Sachs Agrees to $5 Billion Mortgage Settlement

Fortune, Jan. 14, 2016–Gandel, Stephen
Goldman Sachs on Thursday said it reached an agreement in principal to resolve a long running government investigation into its sales of residential mortgage bonds in the run up to the financial crisis. The total settlement is just over $5 billion, and will include $1.8 billion in consumer mortgage relief.

Life in the Post-Subprime Mortgage Era

Mississippi Business, Jan. 14, 2016–Wilmesherr, Ed
Reading between the lines of the Dodd-Frank Act, it was easy to see Congress was not satisfied with the job the bank regulatory agencies had done in the run up to the 2007-2008 banking crisis.

Why Reverse Mortgage Lenders Are Upbeat About 2016

National Mortgage News, Jan. 14, 2016–Collins, Brian
The reverse mortgage industry is optimistic after recent reforms to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage by the FHA and newfound respect from financial planners.

Not Too Big to Fail. Too Expensive to Exist

Wall Street Journal, Jan. 13, 2016–Tracy, Ryan; Rexrode, Christina; Glazer, Emily
Forget too-big-to-fail. The operative question for the country’s largest financial firms is increasingly whether the government has made it too expensive to be big.

Wells Fargo Home Lending Default Servicing Promotes New SVP

HousingWire, Jan. 8, 2016–Swanson, Brena
Wells Fargo promoted Carmen Bell to senior vice president of Wells Fargo Home Lending Default Servicing, where she will lead teams dedicated to helping customers prevent and resolve delinquencies, oversight of collections, single point-of-contact initiatives, underwriting, short sales and mediations.

TRID Training Lacked Effectiveness

Mortgage Professional America, Jan. 8, 2016–da Rosa, Justin
The industry may have trained for it but not all training was equal, according to John Gates, president of the Raleigh Mortgage Bankers Association.

New Reverse Mortgage Laws Should Positively Benefit Retirement Planning, Experts Say

Huffington Post, Jan. 7, 2016–Lazar, Michael
New reverse mortgage laws are actually making retirement planning more feasible, say the leading experts. When used properly as part of a retirement plan, experts like Jamie Hopkins, associate professor of taxation at The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa., and co-director of the New York Life Center for Retirement Income, says that they can improve the security of retirees.

U.S. Judge Gives Initial Approval to Credit Suisse Mortgage Bond Accord

Reuters, Jan. 7, 2016–Raymond, Nate
A judge has given preliminary approval to a $110 million settlement to resolve an investor lawsuit against Credit Suisse Group AG over toxic mortgage-backed securities issued before the 2008 financial crisis.