News

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services announced Tuesday that the Alabama Bankers Association (ABA) has endorsed the company’s mortgage lending compliance solutions. The company explained that its mortgage compliance documentation solutions help institutions reduce regulatory and operational risk, increase speed-to-market, and close loans more efficiently.

A recent study published by the New York Federal Reserve says that lax lending standards were not the air that inflated the market’s latest housing bubble and propelled the nation into an economic tailspin.

Mortgage interest rates were mixed this past week with fixed-rate loans somewhat higher and adjustable-rate mortgages lower, according to numbers compiled by mortgage financier Freddie Mac. Still, housing affordability is the highest it’s been in many years, with significantly reduced rates and housing prices.

As unemployment and home foreclosures continue to rise and threaten the economic recovery, the mortgage insurance industry is stepping up its ongoing efforts to keep families in their homes. According to a statement from the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA) the industry has been at the forefront in developing systems and procedures to support the administration’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

During two days of congressional hearings this week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers he expects foreclosures to head higher still. He added that Fed officials anticipate an economic recovery to start off slowly, primarily because consumers are struggling with high debt and declining housing prices.

While many reputable real estate research firms have reported smaller declines in home prices in recent months, but declines nonetheless, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a report today that says U.

Dallas-based Barrett Daffin Frappier Turner & Engel LLP, a national law firm dedicated exclusively to the mortgage banking industry, recently announced the firm’s continued financial support of NeighborWorks America and the organization’s programs to assist homeowners facing foreclosure.

The LOGS Network, a consortium headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, that provides legal and outsourcing solutions for the residential mortgage and consumer credit industries, has announced that its member firms received a total of 13 awards at the recent LPS Default Solutions Attorney Summit hosted by Lender Processing Services in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Scott Gibson of RE/MAX Renaissance Realty – Gibson Laughton Group in Arizona, has been ranked No. 4 on the list of Top 100 Teams in the United States published by RE/MAX Mainstreet, according to standings for January through May of 2009 based on residential commissions paid.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey Wednesday, which showed an increase in home loan requests for the third week in a row. For the week ending July 17, 2009, MBA reported that total mortgage application volume rose 2.