Origination

In a surprise move, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced a flurry of resignations for Freddie Mac over this year and the next, with CEO Ed Haldeman, Chairman John Koskinen, and several other board members set to step down. Other resigning officers include Laurence Hirsch, a board member who will not seek re-election, and Robert Glauber, chairman of the GSE├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós nomination and governance committee. It remains unclear why Haldeman made the decision to leave the company he helped guide through the financial crisis.

Mortgage application volume leapt forward by 4.9 percent from the week earlier despite flailing numbers for purchase applications. The Mortgage Bankers Association released the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for last week, with findings that include a seasonally adjusted 4.9-percent increase and an unadjusted 4.8-percent increase in terms of total mortgage application volume. Mike Fratantoni, VP with the MBA, tells MReport that application volume remains historically low due to low job growth, among other things.

NexGen Compliance Solutions, LLC, has named a new president with the appointment of Cheri Shine to the position. Shine will take over from the current head of the company, Jeff Adam, who is departing NexGen to open his own financial consulting firm. Formerly NexGen├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós executive vice president, Shine boasts more than two decades in the mortgage business, and she has held diverse roles throughout the industry, including previous experience in lending and title vendor management.

In the Northeast, data from the third-quarter shows that Massachusetts' housing market may be experiencing a slight uptick. The state recorded its third consecutive monthly increase in single-family home sales during September, based on year-over-year numbers.

New single-family home sales snagged a September updraft to crest at their highest perch in nearly half a year, but remain below sales seen during the same period last year. The Commerce Department reported that new residential home sales ticked up to an annual rate of 313,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, reflecting a 5.7-percent revision above the 296,000-unit rate from August. The median sales price for a new house sold over September came out to $204,400, with the average for the same cresting at $243,900.

Financial institutions are continuing to invest in technology despite the unpredictable mortgage marketplace this year, and Home Federal Bank is adhering to the trend with the recent announcement that it will go live on the Common Origination module from Fiserv, Inc.

The Obama administration's latest appointment on Capitol Hill was announced recently, with the news that Thomas Hoenig would be nominated as vice chairman of the FDIC. The former chief of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City would serve the FDIC until December 2015 if he is approved by the Senate.

The meeting cancellation before a major summit of European Union state leaders spooked the markets Tuesday, according to multiple news outlets, leading the Dow Jones Industrial Average into a 207-point nosedive and slashing stocks and shares for the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós mortgage lenders. The investor selloff wiped clean three days of otherwise solid gains for bank stocks and shares, which deflated on news that troubled economic heavyweights Greece and Italy may still tumble.

Morgan Stanley announced Monday that it planned to hand off its servicing arm in a major sale, making it the newest bank in a growing line of others leaving or substantially reducing their share of activity in the mortgage markets. The financial institution said in a statement that it would sell Saxon Mortgage Services to Ocwen Financial Corp. for $59.3 million. The buyer will also pay $1.4 billion to cover fees for advance receivables outstanding, with the transaction expected to close over the first few months of 2012.

On Capitol Hill, the Senate is making moves to help the U.S. housing market capitalize on foreign investors. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) proposed legislation recently that would facilitate investments from abroad by easing the acquisition of visas for those participating. The bipartisan plan would give foreigners buying homes on American soil a residential visa for three-years with an investment of $500,000 or more, provided they live in the property for a minimum of 180 days per year.