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Discrimination Litigation Gets Costly

admin — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:55:41 +0000

Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. agreed to a $3.6 million settlement with the Justice Department over charges of alleged discrimination by a loan production office in a black neighborhood, a statement said. A total of $1.5 million in checks were mailed to Hispanic borrowers who obtained a mortgage from Golden Empire Mortgage Inc., the FTC recently reported. A $1.45 million discrimination settlement was announced between Midwest BankCentre and the Department of Justice.

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2011 Mortgage Graveyard Reaches 70

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:57:35 +0000

Two East Coast banks taken into receivership by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. A week earlier, the National Credit Union Administration threw a credit union, also located on the East Coast, into conservatorship. In all, 70 mortgage-related operations or companies have been closed or failed this year based on data maintained by Mortgage Daily .

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Foreclosure Warnings Mistakenly Sent to BoA Borrowers

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:54:25 +0000

Bank of America said that it mistakenly sent nearly 5,000 Oregon borrowers letters indicating that they owe property taxes and might be risking foreclosure. But the borrowers didn’t owe the taxes. “We sincerely apologize to those who received the letter in error,” said a bank spokeswoman.

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Provident Production Plummets

admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:53:59 +0000

Volume plummeted by 62 percent between the fourth-quarter 2010 and the first-quarter 2011 at Provident Funding Associates LP. In comparison, an analysis by MortgageDaily.com of first-quarter production indicated that fundings at all U.S. lenders were down just 34 percent. Deterioration at Provident was twice as bad as the industry as a whole.

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Rates Lower, ARMs Sink

admin — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:57:38 +0000

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 6 basis points in Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. A more steep decline was recorded for the five-year, Treasury-indexed, adjustable-rate mortgage: 13 BPS. The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM was down 18 BPS.

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MTA Getting Ridiculously Low

admin — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:03:22 +0000

In July 2009, the Monthly Treasury Average fell to the lowest level on record based on Federal Reserve data going back to 1953. Nearly two years later the MTA continues to set new lows. In May, the index fell to 0.26 percent.

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Refis Strengthen During Holiday Week

admin — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 17:09:43 +0000

Inquiries for refinances rose 4 percent this week, according to the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from Mortech Inc. and MortgageDaily.com for the week ended June 3. Refinance share, meanwhile, expanded to 53 percent from 49 percent. The improvement in refinance activity came on the heels of Memorial Day.

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COFI Continues Free Fall

admin — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:53:56 +0000

The 11th District Cost of Funds Index was nearly 10 basis points lower in April. It was the 10th consecutive month that COFI was lower. The index is at its lowest level since October 2009.

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YSPs At Issue in $1 Million Settlement

admin — Sun, 29 May 2011 16:54:32 +0000

A settlement in a class-action lawsuit will cost Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. more than $1 million. At issue are alleged undisclosed yield spread premiums and claims of mortgage fraud by a Missouri originator. The lead plaintiffs claim that Fairway, as a mortgage broker, had a fiduciary duty to provide them with the least expensive loan and breached that duty by collecting yield spread premiums.

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Private Label MBS Revival Not Happening Soon

admin — Thu, 26 May 2011 16:54:01 +0000

In a new report, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that “U.S. private-label residential mortgage-backed securities have faded into the shadows.” The ratings agency noted that it was the housing market that was a primary contributor to the exit of investors in private-label RMBS. The report indicated that it will be several years before any recovery arrives.

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