Credit scores, purchase lock volumes point to further market slowdown
National Mortgage News
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Purchase credit scores hit their highest mark since 2000, and lock volumes pulled back, with both trends signaling persistent affordability and inventory pressures are unlikely to subside in the near term, according to Black Knight Purchase locks fell 11% between late March and mid May, a period typically considered prime spring buying season, at the same time interest rates resumed their climb, according to the data and analytics provider's April Mortgage Monitor report. The latest numbers mark a turnaround from earlier in the year when momentum from falling rates pushed locks higher.
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A federal judge in New York has ruled in favor of Ocwen Financial Services and Wells Fargo, dismissing a case brought by a pension fund over fiduciary duty obligations in a securitization trust. The trustees of The United Food & Commercial Workers Union & Employers Midwest Pension Fund filed the original suit in 2018, seeking class action status. It argued Ocwen, Wells Fargo and a number of other entities, including several Altisource companies along with Front Yard Residential, committed misconduct with respect to the management of residential mortgages, which were in six trusts in which it invested. A previous 2019 ruling by Judge Vernon Broderick of the Federal District Court of the Southern District of New York winnowed down the defendants to just Ocwen and Wells Fargo.
A major shake-up at loanDepot will result in four executives from previous management leaving the company, including the head of its LDI Digital business. These changes have been framed as being part of its Vision 2025 plan announced last July and come after the company announced its fifth consecutive period of net losses in the first quarter. But they also come less than two months after loanDepot's board settled a proxy fight with founder Anthony Hsieh, which had forced him out of any day-to-day executive role at the company.
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There was a notable change in the difference between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's credit-risk transfer activity in 2022, when volume inched up to a new high during the year. Overall, single-family CRT issuance rose to just over $1.06 trillion last year compared to more than $1.05 trillion in 2021. Fannie produced more new single-family CRTs than Freddie Mac annually for the first time since 2019 based on the unpaid principal balance of the reference pools of mortgages involved. The two agencies pay investors to share some of the risks associated with those loans.
Jackson and Kassandra Memmer, residents of Genesee County, Michigan, are also accusing UWM of Fair Labor Standards Act violations in two separate complaints. Jackson, a transgender man, claims he was fired over a probe conducted while he was on paternity leave. Kassandra said she quit over health concerns when the firm wouldn't let her work remotely while pregnant. The lawsuits appear to be the first federal civil suits about UWM's controversial handling of pandemic health and safety protocols, in which the company was fined over.
Top industry executives are stepping up their warnings about two key components of bank profitability, saying that loan growth and net interest income will both remain under pressure throughout the year. Senior executives at JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Truist Financial, PNC Financial Services Group, U.S. Bancorp and Citizens Financial Group all made downbeat comments last week about the lending outlook. Their remarks, which were made at an industry conference held midway through the second quarter, came against the specter of a potential recession. Banks typically record their strongest loan growth during periods of robust economic growth. At the moment, bank customers are reluctant to take on more debt than they can handle, industry executives said.
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Realtor Associate @ Next Trend Realty LLC | HAR REALTOR, IRS Tax Preparer
1yThanks for the updates on, The NMN.