Digital mortgages

Moody's Investors Service downgraded JPMorgan Chase's prime jumbo mortgage originator assessment to its second-highest rating, citing the bank's growing reliance on correspondents with delegated underwriting authority and shortcomings in its technology infrastructure.

Banks aren’t the only ones that need to keep pace with digital innovation — government agencies must also work to stay relevant.

The administration’s recent report on fintech innovation discussed ways to adopt electronic promissory notes — or eNotes — and automated appraisals in federal mortgage programs.

Some startups are eschewing San Francisco and New York to set up shop in the middle of America. And for good reason.

Paycheck information gleaned from bank accounts is emerging as an alternative to verifying a mortgage applicant's income and employment with a 4506-T tax transcript request to the IRS.

Black Knight has acquired HeavyWater, a developer of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology for the mortgage industry, and plans to incorporate the startup's borrower data verification and other automation capabilities into its existing product suite.

Promontory MortgagePath fills management roles for bank relations, technology and outsourced services opportunities.

A new integration between Blend and Ellie Mae seeks to improve the use and accessibility of electronic mortgage documents, the latest in an ongoing industry effort to create a more simplified and consistent borrower experience.

Mick Mulvaney’s recent comments about the CFPB Qualified Mortgage rule have triggered a debate over whether regulators should take into account more than one underwriting model.

Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney suggested that digital mortgages should be held to different standards than ones originated by credit unions and banks.

While the West Coast still reigns as the epicenter of technology development, the Detroit area has quietly emerged as a proving ground for digital mortgage innovations.

Amber Baldet is exiting JPMorgan Chase to start her own venture, and another female executive is taking charge of the blockchain effort. BofA makes major progress on digital mortgages and gets gun-shy after Parkland. Plus, GM’s one-sentence dress code.

The bank says its partnership with Lender Price will help streamline and simplify its home loan process.

Applications can now be made on the bank's app or website, but closings will still be in person. With this move, BofA joins Quicken Loans, Lenda, SoFi and others offering a mostly digital mortgage. The trend is sure to continue.

A BankThink argues that Treasury's GSE cash infusions are just the return of stolen money; MUFG wants its Union Bank to be one of the nation's 10 largest; fintech promises a 30-minute mortgage; and more.

Readers react to a drive for more public banks, weigh in the launch of an online-only bank, chime in on what millennials need and more.

Lenda, launched in 2014, currently makes mortgages start to finish in two weeks. But it's aiming to make it a process that can be finished on a borrower's lunch break.

Servicers are still trying to figure out how they can best take advantage of the growing use of electronic notes and other digital mortgage tools by lenders and the secondary market.

Governments are studying ways blockchain can safeguard property records and simplify how they get tracked.

The bank will spend an additional $1.4 billion on technology in 2018 to gain share and boost efficiency, executives said Tuesday. But they were peppered with questions about whether the big investment will yield a big financial return down the road.