News

DebtX--a large marketplace for commercial, residential, and consumer loans--announced it has signed onto a new five-year agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The agreement allows DebtX to continue selling assets held in the agency's receiverships.

One of the biggest provisions of the QM rule is the newly set Ability-to-Repay rule, which demands that all new mortgages comply with basic requirements to protect consumers from taking on loans they can't repay. The rule does away with so-called ""no doc"" and ""low doc"" mortgages, requiring that all of a borrower's pertinent financial information must be supplied and verified. The Ability-to-Repay rule also stipulates that lenders base their evaluation of a consumer's ability to pay on long-term views, discounting ""teaser"" or ""starter"" rates typically used in the introductory period.

FICO released a survey of bank risk management professionals to gather projections on where credit will be heading in the next 6 months. The study, which was conducted by the Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA), found a little more than half of risk professionals (53 percent) expect mortgage credit to meet or exceed consumer demand into the first half of 2013. In the Q4 survey, 68.6 percent of professionals also said they believe the level of 90-plus mortgage delinquencies will decrease or stay the same, representing a 7.1 decline from the previous quarter.

The number of construction job openings dropped 6,000 and there were 11.5 available workers for open construction job, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance rose 4,000 to 371,000 for the week ended January 5, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to drop to 362,000 from the prior week.

Out of all U.S. homeowners, 29.3 percent, or 20.6 million, own their home free and clear of a mortgage, according to an analysis from Zillow. Among the 30 largest metro areas, Zillow found Pittsburgh had the highest share of homeowners without mortgage debt--38.6 percent. Zillow chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries explained determining where mortgage-free homeowners are located can also bring insight into potential inventory and demand in certain areas.

After announcing Monday the sale of nearly $306 billion in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) on 2 million loans, Bank of America might be looking to unload a little more. Reuters first reported Tuesday that the bank is planning to sell rights on at least another $100 billion of mortgages. BofA is likely to announce more MSR sales in the next several weeks, according to two unnamed sources who spoke to Reuters.

The state with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation may experience a change in its foreclosure laws that will help speed up the process in order to reduce the backlog of properties making their way through the pipeline. Rep. Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) introduced H.B. 87 to expedite the state's lengthy foreclosure process through several tweaks to the current law. Under the newly proposed statute, in order to pursue foreclosure, a mortgage lender must confirm they have all the necessary paperwork giving them the right to foreclose.

Walter Investment Management Corp. announced two definitive agreements Monday-one with Bank of America and another with MetLife Bank.

Nevada Attorney General (AG) Catherine Cortez Masto announced a new program to help homeowners in Nevada find state and federal assistance that might be available to them. The Home Again Nevada Homeowner Relief Program is a one-stop resource center that is accessed by calling 1-855-HLP-4-NEV (1-855-457-4638).