Secondary Market

A climb for mortgage rates last week cooled mortgage applications, leading overall volume to edge down by 2.7 percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association found in a weekly survey that the refinance share of mortgage activity also continued a six-week streak of declines, with a deflation from 73.4 percent of total applications to 71.9 percent last week. The Refinance Index accordingly ticked down by 4.6 percent from the week before, falling to the lowest figures since December last year. The MBA attributed the dip in a statement to a 12-percent decline in government refinance activity.

Referrals from real estate agents guide about one-third of mortgage-financing decisions for today├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós homebuyers, according to a recent survey. Campbell Surveys and Inside Mortgage Finance polled about 1,800 Realtors in January to learn that agents recommended about 60 percent of the business for mortgage lenders. The survey inferred from the results that real estate agents influence or shape some 34 percent of mortgage-financed home purchases. Recommendations by many agents came about as a result of pre-existing relationships with lenders.

The Five Star Institute, parent company for MReport, is saying goodbye to friend and CEO Ed Delgado. Joining Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, Delgado will leave FSI to become the company's chief operating officer. Delgado boasts more than two decades of experience in the mortgage banking industry and was responsible for founding the company's Lender Leadership League while with FSI.

Mortgage rates continued to show signs of stability this week, with rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage largely repeating a series of bumpy but steady fluctuations. Real estate Web site Zillow fielded 3.88 percent for the 30-year loan, nine basis points down from 3.97 percent last week after a back-and-forth between 3.89 percent and 3.98 percent. The company said that rates for the 15-year loan averaged 3.1 percent this week, with those for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages not far behind at 2.72 percent.

Job and employment figures may keep homeowners near the sidelines, but more Americans still value homeownership and consider it an investment worth making, according to a recent survey. Mortgage giant Fannie Mae polled some 3,000 respondents during the fourth quarter and revealed the figures in a Quarterly National Housing Survey Tuesday. More Americans prefer homeownership to the alternative ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô renting ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and see it as an investment in their futures. The belief in homeownership also extended to respondents across all education levels.

QBE FIRST has named a new CEO, recently announcing the appointment of Christopher Davies to the executive position. The company will capitalize on Davies' two decades of experience in the banking and mortgage industries to promote the growth of QBE FIRST throughout North America.

Central Pacific Financial Corp. has announced the addition of a new executive position within the company's subsidiary, Central Pacific Bank. The financial institution has appointed Lance Mizumoto to the newly established role of executive vice president and chief banking officer. Mizumoto has been a part of CPB since 2005, and most recently, he served as the bank's executive vice president of the commercial markets group. During his three decade career in the industry, Mizumoto has garnered extensive leadership experience in corporate banking, commercial lending, and trade finance.

State regulators shuttered two banks Friday, lifting the national tally to 15 for 2012 so far. Branches fell dark for Rock Spring, Georgia-based Covenant Bank & Trust and Wilmette, Illinois-based Premier Bank. Covenant Bank & Trust went under with $95.7 million in total assets and $90.6 million in total deposits, burning $31.5 million from the FDIC├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Deposit Insurance Fund. Stearns Bank signed off on a loss-share transaction to cover $71.6 million in assets from the financial institution. The International Bank of Chicago picked up Premier Bank in a separate transaction.

In Georgia, credit unions are experiencing growth thanks to attractive terms for borrowers. According to the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates (GCUA), the state recorded a 3.3 percent uptick in membership during 2011. The rise in membership represents a 1 percent improvement over credit union growth for 2010. Georgia residents moving their business to the credit union sector cited lower fees and better interest rates for many services as the chief catalysts behind their decision to pursue membership.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has officially lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit initiated by hedge fund Dodona I LLC over claims that the company misrepresented a $2 billion offering of collateralized debt obligations. U.S. District Judge Victor Marreno rescinded Goldman's move to have the case dismissed, and Dodona will now continue to pursue its legal proceedings against the company in federal court. Goldman is currently facing several lawsuits related to its RMBS offerings. Specifically, Dodona filed its lawsuit over Hudson Mezzanine Funding 2006-I and 2006-2 CDOs.