Tag Archives: Processing

Roughly 3.5 million consumers will get back $200 million in restitution from Discover Bank after federal agencies came down on the financial services institution on Monday for allegedly deceptive sales strategies. The FDIC and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a public enforcement action to conclude their joint investigation that started last year. According to a release, Discover Bank will also fork over $14 million in civil penalties for masking financial products with fees as freebies, misleading consumers about charges, even processing orders without their consent in cases.

The popularity of FHA mortgages is slowing down, while the use of mortgage financing is growing overall, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. FHA-backed transactions made a slight increase in August to 25.9 percent from 25.5 percent in July. The percentage is down from January, when FHA transactions accounted for 27.3 percent of all home purchase transactions. Overall, mortgages were used to finance 68.9 percent of home purchase transactions in August, an increase from 67.5 percent in July.

Billionaire author J.K. Rowling, writer of the Harry Potter series, has listed her Scottish mansion for $3.7 million. Currently, Rowling owns two estates in Edinburgh.

Prospect Mortgage has been appointed as a new financing partner for Fannie Mae, as the government-sponsored enterprise takes steps to expand its HomePath Mortgage program. Through the collaboration with Fannie, Prospect will now be able to extend funding to borrowers who qualify for the mortgage loan initiative.

Presidential candidates often fall over themselves praising vets, but now a mortgage company aims to help brokers better help these wounded warriors find homes. Tucson, Arizona-based Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. announced Thursday that it planned to set up a "Boot Camp" training program. Its mission: To teach Fairway mortgage brokers and employees about the challenges facing newly returned vets and the homeownership opportunities available to those who wear the uniform.

The FDIC wants you to help it unload its bad assets - and by you, we mean only investors. And by investors, the agency is searching for women and minorities in particular. According to a recent release, the FDIC will conduct a number of workshops for interested investors on how to go about buying assets from failed banks. The agency will hold these to-dos in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York across September and October. Workshops will touch on issues like structured sales transactions, pre-qualification processes, and details about the Small Investor Program and Investor Match Program.

Proposals found in Basel III to raise capital requirements for mortgage loans would increase borrower costs for traditional mortgages and make nontraditional mortgages less available at regulated banks, according to a commentary from Fitch Ratings. "U.S. regulators' 'notice of proposed rulemaking' addressing capital requirements and risk-weighted asset calculation criteria would, if adopted, ultimately push banks away from all but the most conventional lending," Fitch said.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to change the guarantee fees (g-fees) the GSEs charge on single-family mortgages. Starting in 2013, g-fees will be higher in some states than others, according to a notice sent to the Federal Register. As per the current national model, "borrowers in states with lower default-related carrying costs are effectively subsidizing borrowers in states with higher costs," the FHFA stated. The proposed method of adjusting the g-fees considers three foreclosure aspects.

Closing rates and the time it takes to close on a residential mortgage increased in August, according to the most recent report from Ellie Mae. Ellie Mae estimates a closing rate of about 47.8 percent in August, up from 45.8 percent in July. The rate for purchase loans was 60.1 percent in August, up from 57.8 percent in July, marking the fourth consecutive increase. The closing rate for refinance loans decreased from 37.9 percent in July to 40.9 percent in August. The time it took to close a loan was 49 days in August, up just one day from July's closing time.

Keller Williams Realty, Inc., unveiled that it recently expanded its international franchise into Indonesia and Southern Africa, helping add to the bottom line of one of the nation's largest real estate companies.