Two of the nation's largest mortgage lenders, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, reported year-over-year increases in their net incomes for 2014, according to the banks' respective earnings statements released on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase reported a record net income of $21.8 billion for the full year of 2014, up from 2013's net income of $17.9 billion. The firm's earnings per share for 2014 was $5.29, which was also a record (for 2013, earnings per share was $4.35). Revenue experienced s slight decline, however, from $99.8 billion in 2013 down to $97.9 billion in 2014.
Read More »MiT National Land Services Recruits Leader for National Division
In New York, national title insurance firm MiT National Land Services added Daniel Eckert to its team to run the company's National Division.
Read More »LenderLive Appoints President for Due Diligence Division
As part of a push to expand its growing operation, LenderLive Network has named Mark Hughes to serve as president of its Due Diligence Division.
Read More »Credit Union Group Opposes Revision to FHLBank Membership Requirements
NAFCU's complaint stems from a provision of the proposed rule that would require FHLB members and applicants to keep 1 percent of assets in home mortgage loans. Current members would also be required to hold at least 10 percent of assets in residential mortgage loans on an ongoing basis as opposed to just at the time of application, as the current rule requires.
Read More »California Agency Seeks to Suspend Servicer’s Mortgage License
Losing California would be a big blow to Ocwen, which serviced more than 378,000 home loans in the state valued at $95 billion unpaid principal balance as of Q3 2014, according to MarketWatch. Shares for the company plummeted in early trading Tuesday, falling off by more than 33 percent before ticking back up slightly. With the latest news, Ocwen is off to a less than promising start to 2015 after concluding what was a rocky 2014
Read More »Survey: Americans’ Attitude Mixed Toward Housing, Economy
Consumers' median earnings growth expectations were 2.5 percent for the year ahead in December, the New York Fed revealed. While that marks a step back from November's reading of 2.7 percent, it's still the second-highest reading since the start of that measure in July 2013.
Read More »ARMCO Announces New COO
Florida-based Aces Risk Management (ARMCO), a provider of Web-based audit technology for the financial services industry, has tapped mortgage quality control expert Phil McCall to serve as COO.
Read More »Report Predicts Big Year for Housing in 2015 Based on Recent Government Actions
In a report released Monday morning, Fitch outlined five big events—all of which have taken place in the past few months—that, taken together, "could have a relatively meaningful impact on home buyer psychology, pent-up demand and housing trends in 2015 and beyond," the company says.
Read More »Unemployment Rate Drops to 5.6 Percent as Payrolls Increase by 252K
The U.S. unemployment rate slipped another 0.2 percentage points in December as employers introduced 252,000 new jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said Friday that the national unemployment rate was down to 5.6 percent by year-end 2014, bringing that number down to its lowest level since June 2008.
Read More »Report: Falling Negative Equity Rate Nearing Single Digits
As home values rise and borrowers continue to gain equity, CoreLogic's analysis indicates that nearly 5.1 million properties are still upside-down on their mortgage. That figure represents about 10.3 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage compared to about 13.3 percent the year prior.
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