Mortgages

Volumes were at a record high in the final quarter of 2020 but lenders didn’t make quite as much since gains on loan sales to the secondary market fell.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s acting director has said he could rethink the pending Fair Debt Collection Practices Act rules, but a report released Monday indicated they’re moving ahead for the time being.

Relying on retained earnings alone, it would be until at least 2036, if not longer, before government control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae might end.

New assistance for renters may help but past efforts, while necessary, failed to get relief to renters in an expedient way, said David Brickman, who is now the head of a new agency lending platform backed by Barings and Meridian Capital.

While the economic recovery and stimulus checks drove upward movement in purchases, it wasn’t enough to offset tumbling refinance activity.

The announcement signals an openness to creating something many GOP lawmakers have long resisted: a federal guarantee of the trillions of dollars of mortgage bonds that Fannie and Freddie issue, a rep for P.A. senator said.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is preparing to retire certain loan underwriting flexibilities after extending them one additional month to April 30.

After a booming 2020, more mortgage lenders than ever before expect diminishing margins in the coming months as climbing interest rates set up heightened competition.

As an improving job market aided financial stability for borrowers, 2020 ended with drops in delinquent home loans, a CoreLogic report found.

Servicers struggled to bring back their borrowers as the overall retention rate crept down to a nadir in the fourth quarter, according to Black Knight.