Servicing

The mortgage market may be the largest market for consumer finance, but the sector lacks a comprehensive national database, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This is why the federal agencies are coming together to create a national mortgage database.

Cetip, a private asset clearinghouse based in Brazil, will partner with technology provider FNC. Through the partnership, Oxford, Mississippi-based FNC, Inc. will apply its technology solutions to the Brazilian mortgage industry.

According to the CFPB, an examination of financial institutions found "instances of significant non-compliance with" regulatory statutes.

A Texas judge granted a motion to dismiss a case filed against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), and its co-defendants over county recording clerk filing fees. The dismissal was MERS' second victory of the week in Texas. One day earlier, MERSCORP announced that the Supreme Court of Texas denied a borrower's petition for review.

Fixed mortgage rates fell back slightly to start November as investors anxiously wait for signs of which direction the economy is headed.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) announced the closing of U.S. Central Bridge Corporate Federal Credit Union (U.S. Central Bridge). The closing comes after three years of efforts to stabilize the corporate credit union sector, the agency stated in a release.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 9,000 to 363,000 for the week ended October 27, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It was the second straight weekly decline and the fourth drop in the last six weeks. The initial claims report has been unusually volatile for the last month, with wide swings in the seasonal adjustment factors used by the Labor Department to "normalize" the data. The seasonal adjustment for next week's report will be "unfavorable," bumping first-time claims higher.

The president and CEO of Ernst Publishing Company, a provider of closing cost data for the real estate and home finance industries, is weighing in on critical challenges--and potential solutions--in the current mortgage marketplace. Participating in The Changemaker, a new podcast series, Ernst's leader, Gregory E. Teal, shed light on initiatives and strategies that have the potential to positively impact the future of housing.

Hammerhouse LLC announced it has expanded its Eastern U.S. headquarters and brought on additional staff in order to meet the increased demands of its growing client base.

Mortgage Marketplace is one of Zillow's app suite that features 15 realestate-related mobile apps across all major platforms. The app provides a transparent lending marketplace where borrowers can connect to reputable lenders to find personalized loan options and get a variety of competitive mortgage rates.