Aspen Grove’s renewal comes at a time when NAC members are spearheading initiatives designed to address issues impacting the valuations industry—namely barriers preventing entry into the appraisal profession, as well as a lack of standardization in regulations governing apprentice appraisers and routine background checks.
Read More »Agency MSR Deal Worth $45 Billion Finalized Between Chase, Ocwen
Ocwen first announced on March 2 it had signed a letter of intent to sell the the $45 billion portfolio, which includes about 266,000 high-quality Fannie Mae loans, to an anonymous buyer. Media reports that surfaced later that week indicated that the buyer was Chase, which was confirmed on Thursday by both parties in the transaction. For Chase, purchasing the high-quality Agency loans is consistent with the New York-based bank's strategy of enhancing the quality of its mortgage business.
Read More »FHFA Director Watt Outlines Positive Developments for Federal Home Loan Banks
In his speech, Watt highlighted that the FHLBanks are an important part of home financing, in that they provide a source of funding and access to the secondary mortgage market and other services to member institutions, especially smaller institutions that have little access these services.
Read More »Senators Introduce Bill Limiting Fed’s Lending Authority, Ending ‘Too Big to Fail’
"If big financial institutions know they can get cheap cash from the Fed in a crisis, they have less incentive to manage their risks carefully - which further increases the chance of another financial crisis," Warren said. "This bill would make our financial system safer and help level the playing field between the megabanks and their smaller competitors."
Read More »Millennials’ Credit Access Not Hindered by Student Loan Debt, Study Shows
The study also shows that both, consumers with student loans and without loans were affected by the changes in the economy and shifts in credit access. Consumers ages 18 to 29 with credit obligations like mortgages, credit card, and auto loans declined significantly between 2005 and 2012.
Read More »REO Cash Sales Share Hovers Near 60 Percent
The REO cash sales share percentage of 59.8 for February still has not completely recovered from what was termed a seasonal decline from November, when fell from 61.1 percent to 58.4 percent, though it did move back up to 60 percent for January.
Read More »Investors Continue to Favor Flipping Over Renting by Narrowing Margin
Overall investor intent in April's survey showed that slightly more than half (50.4 percent) of investors preferred flipping as a strategy, while 48.3 percent of investors said they intended to employ a hold-to-rent strategy. This data compared with 53.5 percent and 44.8 percent, respectively, in Q1. "Most of the country and most investor segments performed in a manner very consistent with what we’ve seen over the past year, but investment strategies in Texas appear to have shifted pretty dramatically," Auction.com EVP Rick Sharga said.
Read More »Study Shows Traditional Credit Scores May Not Be Accurate When Assessing Risk Millennials Pose
Millennials were found to have to have lower credit scores in 80 percent of the categories that make up traditional credit scores such as mortgage loans, auto loans, credit cards, and other installment loan payment histories because many young adults simply do not have any credit history with these financial products, with the exception of student loans.
Read More »Goldman Sachs Ordered to Pay Australian Bank $100 Million for MBS ‘Conflict of Interest’
Arbitrators from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) awarded the $80 million compensatory request to NAB plus interest amounting to approximately $20 million, according to reports, bringing the total amount Goldman was ordered to pay up to approximately $100 million.
Read More »Nevada Lawmakers Recommend Elimination of Foreclosure Mediation Program
Nevada was one of the states affected most by the crisis. In response to the housing crash, back in 2009 the Nevada legislature created a Foreclosure Mediation Program. The members of a subcommittee of the Nevada Legislature recently voted to recommend the elimination of the program, however, after determining that the housing market has sufficiently recovered.
Read More »