Mortgages

The nation's largest bank indicated Monday that it may again offer home equity lines of credit to a wide audience. Rising mortgage rates have made the product more attractive after a long drought when low rates suppressed demand.

Depository originators lose 68 cents per $1 more than their nondepository competitors.

While longtime non-QM companies have originated mortgages in the segment for years, new contenders have come into the market as the number of potential customers who fit into the category grows.

The offering touts closings in as few as 10 days and allows homebuyers to compete with deep-pocketed investors and iBuyers.

A larger share felt it was a bad time for both buying and selling, but a growing number expect price growth to slow.

The March estimates for payrolls of nonbanks involved in home lending confirm widespread anecdotal reports of industry layoffs, but strength in broader financial-services hiring could pick up the slack.

Multiple factors have slowed residential sales, tightening the market for home loans for banks and credit unions.

The move supports strong gains coming in from this side of the business, which helped the company return to profitability in the third quarter.

Purchase numbers came in higher for both conventional and government activity, while the average loan amount shows signs of easing.

While first-quarter profits were up considerably, CEO Michael Nierenberg said the company will offer more products to counter market conditions that are “only going to get worse.”