Freddie Mac names new CEO, PHH buys $48 billion in MSR, an exclusive Better.com interview & more of the week’s top news
May 28, 2021 2:26 PM
Freddie Mac hires former Wells Fargo exec as CEO
Michael DeVito, Wells Fargo's former executive vice president of home lending, will take over as CEO of Freddie Mac on June 1.
DeVito will replace interim CEO Mark Grier, who will return to his duties on Freddie Mac's board. Grier assumedthe interim role in March after David Brickman retired, vacating the CEO post in January.
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DeVito will replace interim CEO Mark Grier, who will return to his duties on Freddie Mac's board. Grier assumed
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Better.com’s Vishal Garg on IPO, RefiNow and hostility
Life at Better.com has been anything but boring. In the past two months alone, the company raised $500 million in investments , saw its valuation balloon to $7.7 billion and announced the launch of its initial public offering through a SPAC later this year.
“We tell investors that ultimately there's a big difference between us and a traditional mortgage company,” CEO and founder Vishal Garg said. “What you're buying is something that is going to reallyUber-ize the home journey. ”
Read thefull interview here.
“We tell investors that ultimately there's a big difference between us and a traditional mortgage company,” CEO and founder Vishal Garg said. “What you're buying is something that is going to really
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Ocwen subsidiary PHH to buy $48B in MSR
Ocwen Financial subsidiary PHH Mortgage Corp. announced Monday that it plans to purchase a $48 billion mortgage servicing rights portfolio from AmeriHome, a lender that Western Alliance Bank is acquiring .
PHH plans to purchase MSRs outstanding as of the closing date for a total price of approximately $607 million, subject to adjustment for run-off, and will reimburse AmeriHome for outstanding servicing advances, according the company’s related 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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PHH plans to purchase MSRs outstanding as of the closing date for a total price of approximately $607 million, subject to adjustment for run-off, and will reimburse AmeriHome for outstanding servicing advances, according the company’s related 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Digital mortgage tech firm Cloudvirga merges with Stewart Information Services
Stewart Information Services is adding to the collection of digital mortgage companies it has acquired in the past year-and-a-half, purchasing Cloudvirga at an undisclosed price.
Cloudvirga offers point-of-sale technology to both retail and wholesale mortgage bankers. Current CEO Kyle Kamrooz was a co-founder of the company in 2016.
Read thefull story here.
Cloudvirga offers point-of-sale technology to both retail and wholesale mortgage bankers. Current CEO Kyle Kamrooz was a co-founder of the company in 2016.
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Snapdocs breaks the $1 billion valuation mark
Snapdocs announced it raised $150 million in Series D funding. Tiger Global led the fundraise, in conjunction with Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, F-Prime, Maverick, Alkeon, and Wellington Management.
The cloud-based connector platform for digital closings secured $60 million in its Series C round in October 2020 and pooled$25 million from its Series B in November 2019.
Read thefull story here.
The cloud-based connector platform for digital closings secured $60 million in its Series C round in October 2020 and pooled
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Zombie foreclosures spike in 2Q
While government-mandated foreclosure mortoria remain in place, the number of vacant homes entering the foreclosure process has spiked, according to a report from Attom Data Solutions.
These properties, commonly referred to as “zombie foreclosures,” totaled 8,078 in the second quarter of 2021, jumping 21% from6,677 quarterly and 5.6% from 7,652 annually.
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These properties, commonly referred to as “zombie foreclosures,” totaled 8,078 in the second quarter of 2021, jumping 21% from
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Sustained home price growth builds mortgages risk
When adjusted for the extent home prices have risen since bottoming out after the Great Recession, combined loan-to-value ratios rose above 100% in 2019 for the first time since 2008.
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Fulton Bank partners with Minority Mortgage Bankers
Fulton Bank in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has started a partnership with the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America to increase its diversity and internal training programs.
The bank said it aims to help traditionally underserved communitieswith better representation in its mortgage division and will work to reduce biases.
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The bank said it aims to help traditionally underserved communities
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Purchase loan closing times keep shortening
Lenders cut mortgage closing times for the fourth consecutive month in April, inching closer to pre-pandemic levels.
The average days to close dropped to 51from 52 in March but remains elevated from the year-ago average of 42, according to ICE Mortgage Technology.
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The average days to close dropped to 51
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Fannie and Freddie’s progress on helping Black borrowers
In the year following widespread protests on racial injustice , Black homeownership has gotten a little more attention from the government-sponsored enterprises, but a number of factors including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s own changing business models have been a stumbling block to greater progress.
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Impac, Equity Solutions, Cherry Creek's C-suite hires
Also, MBA adds to its advocacy team, Grandbridge builds out its originations network, Bravo Capital gets new underwriting leadership and more industry changes.
See the rest ofthis week’s job moves here.
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Interest rate surge drops mortgage applications
The MBA’s Market Composite Index, which tracks total mortgage application volume through a survey of lenders, fell 4.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis and 4% unadjusted for the week ending May 21. Total activity is down a seasonally adjusted 7%, compared to the same week one year ago.
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The industry’s new programs to close diversity gap
Advocates have constantly said that lack of diversity along with an aging workforce is likely holding the mortgage industry back when it comes to meeting the needs of millennial households , including people of color, who are looking for financing.
Several efforts have taken root recently to help bridge that gap.
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Several efforts have taken root recently to help bridge that gap.
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Mortgage rates drop as inflation anxiety eases
A week after it hit 3% , the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage headed back down, as inflation concerns subsided temporarily.
The average 30-year fixed-term mortgage dropped to 2.95% for the weekly period ending May 27, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Markets Survey, down from 3% the previous week. One year ago, the average came in at 3.15%.
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The average 30-year fixed-term mortgage dropped to 2.95% for the weekly period ending May 27, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Markets Survey, down from 3% the previous week. One year ago, the average came in at 3.15%.
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Inside Cloudvirga's merger with Stewart
By the end of 2020, Cloudvirga had reached an inflection point in the company's five-year history. The firm needed to raise additional capital to continue on its growth path and it considered several options.
"As a startup you get to the point of your cash runway, and you look for funding so we were at a point where it was time to do that process," said Maria Moskver, president and chief operating officer of themortgage point-of-sale technology provider.
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"As a startup you get to the point of your cash runway, and you look for funding so we were at a point where it was time to do that process," said Maria Moskver, president and chief operating officer of the
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