A Small Bank’s Big Victory Against Mortgage Fraud Prosecution

National Mortgage News, Nov. 13, 2015–Lindorff, David
In the wake of the financial crisis, only one bank is believed to have faced a criminal trial on charges of mortgage fraud. A Jury in New York state court acquitted the bank of all charges this summer.

Equifax: Why Mortgage Originations are Up, but Loan Portfolios are Flat

Atlanta Business Chronicle, Nov. 4, 2015
Data from the latest Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report show total mortgage originations rose to $1.2 trillion through the first nine months of 2015–up 63 percent over the same period a year ago. But at the same time, total mortgage and home equity balances were $8.84 trillion at the end of September–virtually flat with figures from the past 18 months.

CoreLogic: Distressed Home Sales at Lowest Level in 8 Years

HousingWire, Nov. 4, 2015–Swanson, Brena
Distressed sales and short sales accounted for 9.3% of total home sales nationally in August, down 2.3 percentage points from a year ago and down 0.4 percentage points from July, said CoreLogic.

Freddie Mac Won’t Need Treasury Aid After Third-Quarter Loss

Bloomberg, Nov. 3, 2015–Hopkins, Cheyenne
Freddie Mac won’t seek additional funds from the Treasury Department and won’t need to make a dividend payment to the government after reporting a half-billion dollar third-quarter loss stemming mostly from accounting for hedges against interest-rate risk.

Fannie, Freddie May Need to Tap Treasury, FHFA Director Says

Marketwatch, Nov. 3, 2015–Goldstein, Steve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are at risk of needing an injection of Treasury capital after the latter reported its first quarterly loss in four years, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday.

Are Servicers Finally Off the CFPB’s Hit List?

HousingWire, Nov. 3, 2015–Swanson, Brena
A quick perusal of the new supervisory report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau might finally be a sign that servicers are no longer at the top of the bureau’s hit list.

Mortgage Company Sues Owners of 400 Georgetown Homes over Titles

Austin American-Statesman, Nov. 3, 2015–Osborn, Claire
Owners of 400 homes in a Williamson County, Texas neighborhood got a shock recently after receiving a federal lawsuit that said the land they had bought as far back as the 1990s really wasn’t theirs.

MGIC: Primary New Mortgage Insurance Falls to $3.5B

HousingWire, Nov. 9, 2015–Swanson, Brena
Primary new mortgage insurance once again dropped for the month and declined to $3.5 billion, according to MGIC Investment’s October operational summery of its insurance subsidiaries for its primary mortgage insurance.

Midwest States Reign in Mortgage Health Survey

National Mortgage Professional, Nov. 9, 2015–Hall, Phil
North Dakota has received much attention lately for its booming energy industry. But a new survey from the NerdWallet Web site gives North Dakota new attention as the state with the best mortgage health.