Originations

Consolidation is coming in the mortgage industry, but a protracted timetable will continue to constrict industry profits.

Social Finance, the lending and refinancing startup valued at more than $4 billion, is cutting about 7% of its staff, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The sustained rise in home values will boost Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's loan limits for 2019, marking the second consecutive year in which it increased by nearly 7%.

Subprime originations are climbing in multiple consumer loan categories, including mortgages, but the increase is much smaller in the home loan sector than it is in other markets, according to TransUnion.

Ginnie Mae officials are concerned about unusual activity with Department of Veterans Affairs cash-out refinances and are investigating the causes, as well as whether predatory lenders are taking advantage of veterans.

Although forecasts anticipate a continuing drop in overall originations, private-label residential mortgage-backed securitizations backed by newer loans are expected to keep increasing through next year, according to Bank of America.

High property values and low mortgage rates pushed commercial and multifamily originations beyond their projected totals in 2017 to a new market peak, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are stepping down because the job they were hired to do — return the GSEs to profitability — is done. But attracting top-flight candidates to lead the mortgage giants into a new phase may not be easy.

Zillow Group is moving from being a mortgage marketer to originating loans with its acquisition of Mortgage Lenders of America, in an effort to support its home-flipping business.

Startup LoanSnap, a company funded in part by Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, has launched artificial intelligence that matches consumers with mortgages based on a complex analysis of their financial situation.