Last month, Citigroup announced plans to exit the mortgage servicing business and sell off a $97 billion portfolio to a non-bank servicer and transfer their remaining mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) to another non-bank servicer by early 2018. Thus continues the trend of non-bank mortgage servicers capturing more market share year after year than their bank competition. Last year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report which emphasized the fact that the share of mortgages serviced by non-banks increased from 6.8 percent in 2012 to 24.2 percent in 2015. Continue reading Expect a Change to Regulation of Non-Bank Mortgage Servicers →

As the mortgage regulation alphabet continues, with lenders implementing HMDA, TRID, QM and more, the industry cited regulation as having a negative impact on business production and consumer credit availability, according to the American Bankers Association’s 24th annual Real Estate Lending Survey. Continue reading How Do You Compare ? QM Lending Statistics →

On Tuesday, Chris D’Angelo, the associate director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) division of Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending, said at an American Bankers Association meeting in Washington that the CFPB is bureau was set to undertake a review of a host of major rules that it has put in place, including the qualified mortgage rule.

D’Angelo stated that the CFPB is “embarking” on the process of reviewing rules that it has put in place as mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act. Continue reading CFPB to Re-Examine Regulations →

For many years, mortgage loan officers touted the value of attending closings out of a belief that doing so helped build relationships with the borrower, real estate agents and title companies. At the National Mortgage Lending Conference, the STRATMOR Group’s Senior Partner Garth Graham shared new data calculated from more than 150,000 home loan experiences to learn the truth behind this activity and whether it impacted borrower satisfaction. The result? A resounding yes – there’s a direct link between borrower satisfaction and whether loan officers attend mortgage closings. Continue reading Why Loan Officers Should Attend Mortgage Closings →

If we learned anything at December’s Digital Mortgage Conference in San Francisco, it was that the industry is ready for the electronic mortgage.

That should come as no surprise to anyone who has been in the industry for very long. A mortgage originated, sold into the secondary market, and then serviced in a completely electronic fashion, has been the dream of many mortgage industry technologists for almost two decades. That’s how long ago the federal government passed the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Law, also known as the E-Sign Act. Continue reading Ready for the E-Mortgage – Here’s the Latest →

Zillow Group (Z, ZG) shares have struggled in recent weeks, and new headaches may be coming investors’ way.

The real estate portal historically relied on advertising revenue from real estate agents listing homes, but Zillow’s strategic focus in recent years has been to add revenue from mortgage providers. While this has been beneficial to revenues in the past, the new income stream may be at risk due to a possible breach of regulations. Continue reading Zillow May Have Violated Mortgage Regulations – Be Smart to Stay Safe →

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a proposal to amend Equal Credit Opportunity Act regulations to provide additional flexibility for mortgage lenders in the collection of consumer ethnicity and race information. The CFPB believes the proposed amendments will provide greater clarity to lenders regarding their obligations under the law, while promoting compliance with rules intended to ensure consumers are treated fairly. Continue reading ECOA Amendments Are on the Way – Are You Ready ? →