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Trade Groups Commend Fannie Mae’s Newest Step To Address Buybacks

Trade Groups Commend Fannie Mae’s Newest Step To Address Buybacks

trade-groups-commend-fannie-mae’s-newest-step-to-address-buybacks

Mortgage trade groups have commended the moves taken by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) to address a spike in loan buybacks — the latest being a new electronic notification made available by Fannie Mae. But advocates also say more is needed to improve the loan repurchase process.   On Feb. 24, Fannie […]

NYCB Shakes Up Leadership Amid $2.4B Earnings Hit, Weak Controls

Thomas Cangemi is stepping down as president and CEO of New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) following the company’s disclosure of internal control deficiencies and a goodwill impairment of $2.4 billion.  Alessandro DiNello, appointed executive chairman of the board on Feb. 6, will replace Cangemi, effective immediately. DiNello was the president and CEO of Flagstar Bancorp, a bank recently […]

FHFA Sets Transition To New Credit Models For Late 2025

fhfa-sets-transition-to-new-credit-models-for-late-2025

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on Thursday that the transition to new credit score requirements is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2025, a decision commended by the mortgage industry.  That’s when the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will acquire single-family loans based on the FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 credit models, replacing the Classic FICO […]

Fairway Is The Latest Mortgage Company To Report Cyber Incident

fairway-is-the-latest-mortgage-company-to-report-cyber-incident

Top 10 U.S. mortgage lender Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. sustained a cyber attack in early December due to vulnerabilities in a vendor system, the company told the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. On Dec. 4, the company’s information security team “received notification that an unauthorized user had successfully accessed a third-party system utilized by […]

Industry Experts Are Closely Watching Delinquency Rates, Insurance Costs

industry-experts-are-closely-watching-delinquency-rates,-insurance-costs

Mortgage servicers, regulators and economists are closely watching the delinquency rates for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans following a spike in the fourth quarter of 2023. Industry experts say that although there’s a correlation between unemployment and delinquency rates, some homeownership costs — including insurance — have increased significantly over the past two or three […]

‘It’s Scary Out There’: Mortgage Industry Reacts To Cyberattacks

‘it’s-scary-out-there’:-mortgage-industry-reacts-to-cyberattacks

Recent cyberattacks at mortgage companies have put the industry in alert mode, executives at top lenders, servicers, tech vendors and investors told HousingWire.  Mr. Cooper Group, loanDepot, First American and Fidelity National Financial Inc., parent of servicer LoanCare, have temporarily shut down their systems to contain cyberattacks that exposed their customers’ data. Executives don’t have […]

FHA Institutes New Payment Supplement Partial Claim

fha-institutes-new-payment-supplement-partial-claim

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Wednesday issued a mortgagee letter that implements the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) payment supplement partial claim. The new loss-mitigation alternative resulted from the FHA’s acknowledgment that its toolkit wasn’t enough to support struggling borrowers as mortgage rates surged. Since March 2020, lenders and servicers have […]

Sagent Unveils New Servicing Platform

sagent-unveils-new-servicing-platform

Warburg Pincus-backed fintech Sagent launched on Wednesday its new servicing software platform called Dara, which has a single real-time database and user experience across the entire core, consumer and default servicing life cycle, according to the company.  It’s the first launch for Sagent under the leadership of recently appointed CEO Geno Paluso, a retired U.S. Navy captain who […]

Ardley Launches White-Label Automated Underwriting Engine

ardley-launches-white-label-automated-underwriting-engine

Reston, Virginia-based Ardley Technologies announced on Tuesday the launching of its white-label automated underwriting engine called Autopilot, which the company states will enable lenders to create instant, conditional loan approvals for qualified borrowers.  “The main thing about Autopilot is the speed with which we can offer a decision to a borrower,” Nate Den Herder, founder and CEO […]

UWM Sues Mortgage Solutions And Its Owner Over EPOs, Trademark Infringement

uwm-sues-mortgage-solutions-and-its-owner-over-epos,-trademark-infringement

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has accused California-based brokerage and correspondent lender Mortgage Solutions FCS, dba Client Direct Mortgage, of breaching its early payoff (EPO) provision and its owner, Ramon Walker, of trademark infringement. UWM filed a lawsuit in a U.S. district court in Michigan on Wednesday. The legal battle follows the creation of a Facebook […]

Better Launches Fully Digital VA Loan With No Minimum Down Payment

better-launches-fully-digital-va-loan-with-no-minimum-down-payment

Better.com announced Thursday that it’s launching fully digital U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) loans through its Tinman platform. The product, which has no minimum down payment requirement, is expected to reach about 10% of the lender’s portfolio in 2024. “We’ve been working toward launching a VA product for the past two years,” Vishal Garg, founder and CEO […]

Sagent Taps Geno Paluso As New CEO

sagent-taps-geno-paluso-as-new-ceo

Fintech Sagent has hired Geno Paluso, a retired U.S. Navy captain serving as the vice president of business development for multinational firm BAE Systems, as its new CEO.  Effective Monday, Paluso succeeded Dan Sogorka, who will remain with the company as an adviser before transitioning to a new opportunity, the company announced Tuesday.  Paluso is transitioning from BAE […]

Proprietary Capital Completes Acquisition Of AFR, Hires New COO

proprietary-capital-completes-acquisition-of-afr,-hires-new-coo

A group of investors led by Colorado-based fund manager Proprietary Capital has completed the acquisition of multichannel lender American Financial Resources (AFR), the parties announced on Monday. The financials of the deal were not disclosed.  Corey Dubnoff, who founded AFR in 1997, will remain as chief administrative officer, and Tim Yanoti will stay on as chief financial officer. In addition, Rob […]

Mr. Cooper Delivers $500M Profit In 2023, Addresses Yellen’s Concerns With Nonbanks

mr.-cooper-delivers-$500m-profit-in-2023,-addresses-yellen’s-concerns-with-nonbanks

Mr. Cooper Group was profitable in 2023, a year marked by its acquisition of Home Point Capital and Roosevelt Management Co., along with the fallout from a cyberattack. Mr. Cooper’s strong performance was mainly due to its servicing business, which benefited from a higher interest rate environment. During a call with analysts on Friday morning, company executives addressed some […]

Two Harbors CEO Speaks On Strategic Origination Business 

two-harbors-ceo-speaks-on-strategic-origination-business 

Minnesota-based real estate investment trust Two Harbors has hired industry veteran Kyle Kilpatrick to lead its newly created mortgage originations division, which is part of the company’s strategy to retain borrowers from its servicing portfolio when interest rates drop. “He has experience building direct-to-consumer channel products and businesses from scratch,” Bill Greenberg, president and CEO […]

Rithm Capital Delivers $524M Profit In 2023 

rithm-capital-delivers-$524m-profit-in-2023 

New York-based Rithm Capital posted a profit in 2023, a year marked by several acquisitions that turned the company into a leading global asset manager. In the mortgage space, the parent of multichannel lender Newrez earned most of its profits from the servicing business.  Lower interest rates, however, reduced the value of mortgage servicing rights (MSR) in the […]