Headlines

Investment banking firm Morgan Stanley’s net revenues for the third quarter of 2015 were down by more than $1 billion from Q3 2014, according to the firm’s Q3 2015 earnings statement released Monday.

Home prices and risk are being driven up quicker than income by low mortgage rates, an improving labor market, and loose credit standards, but some believe this is not a sustainable approach to homeownership. The American Enterprise Institute's First-Time Buyer Mortgage Share Index found that first-time buyers accounted for 56.4 percent of primary owner-occupied home purchase mortgages with a government guarantee in September 2015, up from last years' total of 54.4 percent.

Domestic-based end-to-end mortgage services provider LenderLive, based in Denver, Colorado, announced that Jeffrey Lewis has joined the company as a regional account executive for the firm’s Correspondent Lending line, covering New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.

Irvine, California-based online real estate marketplace Auction.com has announced the acquisition of online real estate marketplace Allre and the hiring of Allre’s founder, Kathy Dryden, as SVP of product strategy.

The housing crisis has been referred to as a “silent” crisis by former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros and former Senator Scott Brown, both of whom spoke at Friday’s event, because no one wants to talk about it. But when it comes to issues like income inequality, low homeownership rates, and people losing their homes due to foreclosure, why is it not talked about more often in the news and elsewhere?

Commentary is an ongoing series on theMReport.com that focuses on opinions, ideas, and insights from experts across mortgage banking. TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule compliance is finally here. Pramod Karachur, project manager at IndiSoft, outlines how many, but not all, are adjusting to the new regulation and offers advice to those that are still working toward compliance.

The macroeconomic picture in the U.S. continues to battle economic headwinds—namely a September jobs report that came in below expectations and an appreciating dollar which will pressure the already growing U.S. trade deficit, Fannie Mae said. Yet, housing remains in a fairly positive zone, considering all of the factors weighing it down.

There is a demographic shift happening within the mortgage profession. In an industry that is so male and white-focused, women and minorities are often passed over for well-deserved positions and promotions, but this idea is being reshaped and redefined right before our eyes. This select print feature appears in the October 2015 edition of MReport magazine, available now.

VRM University, the training division of VRM Mortgage Services that provides nationwide training, certification, and continuing education for the mortgage and real estate industries, recently announced the launch of their new Diversity & Inclusion Self-Assessment Tool Kit.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced the finalization of a rule that will improve information about consumers’ access to residential mortgage credit by updating reporting requirements of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.