Mortgages

The bankruptcy of Wingspan Portfolio Advisors epitomizes the existential crisis facing default servicing. This once-thriving sector of the mortgage industry now finds itself declining in lockstep with the drop in loan delinquencies and foreclosures.

Ellie Mae will add new integrations of Fannie Mae's automated loan review technology to its loan origination system to help lenders ensure loans remain eligible for sale throughout the underwriting process and eliminate surprises at the end.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new integrated disclosure regulations could pose problems for warehouse line providers along with their mortgage lender clients.

Discover Financial Services in Riverwoods, Ill., continued its run of quarterly profit declines in the second quarter, due primarily to higher costs for compliance, marketing and customer rewards.

HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., has hired PNC Financial Services Group banker Kristin Powell as co-director of mortgage lending.

The Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday said the housing market recovery has shifted to "a higher gear," and it raised its forecasts for total originations and home purchases for this year and 2016.

Bankers were pleased with the dramatic leap in home lending last quarter, but they cautioned that volume will slow in the second half as rate increases curb refinancings, nonbanks provide stiffer competition, servicing costs remain high and underwriting standards change.

The new regulations are meant to close loopholes in an interest rate cap that applies to active-duty soldiers and sailors. But financial institutions won at least one important concession.

The new MBS program gives FHLB members direct access to the secondary market.

MGIC has discounted single-premium lender-paid mortgage insurance by 11% during the second quarter in order to get market share in this highly competitive product.

Federal judges have dismissed two lawsuits that accused Wells Fargo of reverse-redlining in Los Angeles and Cook County, Ill., Reuters reported.

WASHINGTON — The efforts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders to claw back the value of their investments by suing the U.S. Treasury have not elicited much support on Capitol Hill.

Citigroup's second-quarter profit got a modest boost from Citi Holdings, a unit set up six years ago as a dumping ground for toxic assets. After losing billions for years, Citi Holdings has now become a minor profit source for its parent.

BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., met Wall Street's earnings expectations after reporting revenue rose slightly. The company's second-quarter net income available to shareholders rose 7% from a year earlier, to $454 million. Revenue increased 1.3%, to $2.3 billion.

The onetime track star was a fixture at the Mortgage Bankers Association for nearly 20 years and a familiar face at industry conferences.

WASHINGTON — The House passed a bill Tuesday that could ease the regulatory burden on community and regional banks with mortgage servicing businesses.

Banks better get ready for a quick, steep increase in deposit costs after the Fed raises rates. Technology, new regulations and other factors have changed the slower-paced retail-banking game of old, JPMorgan Chase executives say.

Wells Fargo said second-quarter net income was little changed as rising rates have eroded Wells Fargo's dominance in the mortgage market.

Struggling to win business in the age of QM, Impac Mortgage has relaxed underwriting requirements in hopes of attracting borrowers many other lenders won't touch.

Some housing professionals have grown reluctant to participate in the Federal Home Loan Banks' Affordable Housing Program, objecting to burdensome requirements and rules that are inconsistent with other funding sources. It's time for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to make some updates.