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Author Archives: Seth Welborn

Seth Welborn is a contributing writer for DS News. He is a Harding University graduate with a degree in English and a minor in writing, and has studied abroad in Athens, Greece. An East Texas native, he also works part-time as a photographer.

FHFA Reports Drops In Refinances

According to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, total Refinance volume has dropped as mortgage rates have risen. In February 2017, borrowers completed 4,198 refinances through HARP, and since HARP’s inception in 2009, the program has made 3,456,422 refinances. HARP represented three percent of total refinance volume, and six percent of loans refinanced through HARP had a loan-to-value ratio greater than 125 percent.

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Several Banks Report Declining Mortgage Revenue

PNC, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase all reported optimistic outlooks in their Q1 reports despite some declining revenue. All three banks found that their mortgage revenue has been declining. due to lower gains on residential mortgage servicing rights and lower mortgage loan revenues overall. Overall earnings for JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo were down slightly from the previous quarter.

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ClosingCorp Chosen as Best Service Provider

ClosingCorp recently announced its induction into the Ellie Mae Hall of Fame. The provider of real estate cost data and technology for the mortgage and real estate services industry was selected as the winner of the Lenders’ Choice for Best Service Provider Category.

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Hensarling Discusses How to Bring Accountability to the CFPB

“The most powerful and least accountable Washington bureaucracy in history” is what Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a blog post on Tuesday. In the post, Hensarling acknowledges the bureau’s important mission, but notes the shortcomings that it has faced.

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Supreme Court Judge Refuses To Reopen Credit Suisse Suit

A New York State judge refused to reopen a dismissed lawsuit against a Credit Suisse AG unit, Law360 reports. New York Supreme Court Judge Eileen Bransten previously dismissed the case involving $1 billion in losses from faulty residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), but new RMBS claims were not enough for U.S. Bank NA, a trustee for some RMBS pools, reopen the suit.

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Construction Jobs Dip Slightly

The number of open construction sector jobs rose to 169,000 in February, still below the cycle high of 238,000 set in July 2016. Additionally, the open position rate, or job openings as a percent of total employment, increased to 2.4 percent. The open position rate on a moving twelve-month average basis stayed near the cycle high at around 2.7 percent.

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Foreclosures, Delinquencies Drop Year-Over-Year

CoreLogic released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for January 2017, which analyzes rates of delinquency and foreclosure. In January 2017, 5.3 percent of mortgages were delinquent by 30 days or more, a 1.1 percent percentage point decline in the overall delinquency rate year-over-year. Overall, delinquency rates saw steady drops year-over-year.

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Mother Lode Holding Company Expands in Texas

Mother Lode Holding Company (MLHC) announced the expansion expansion of its Texas operation. For the first time, MLHC will be opening Texas National Title branches, the Mother Lode Texas branch in several Texas markets beginning in April 2017 under the direction of David Tandy.

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Optimal Blue Unveils API Initiative

At the MBA Tech Conference, Optimal Blue unveiled its new Application Programming Interface (API) initiative. The first deliverables available through Optimal Blue’s new API platform allow secure access to pricing for eligible products for both consumer direct and loan officer implementations.

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Court Finds No Pro-Bank Bias From Judge in Foreclosure Case

In March, a homeowner sued Bank of America and several other mortgage companies for allegedly attempting to illegally foreclose on his property, and went on to claim that the assigned California federal judge has shown a pro-bank bias, citing that the jurist has tossed 56 out of 57 foreclosure-related cases to come before him since 2008, Law360 reports.

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