Loan Portal, Processing, HMDA Compliance, TPO Products; Freddie and Fannie News; FICO 10 T in the MBS Market

Conference season is cranking back up, and some believe that apple orchards are in danger of extinction give the amount of “applewood smoked” bacon in every buffet line. Whether it is Brussels sprouts or beets, there is someone out there re-thinking things. Here in Los Angeles at the L1 event I learned of the book, “Rethink Everything You Know About Being A Next Gen Loan Officer: Kyle Draper and Brian Vieaux team up with 39 mortgage and real estate industry thought-leaders and influencers to help originators adapt their business marketing and relationships to attract the next generation of homebuyers.” Heard in the hallways of this conference: “Congress is a hot mess now. They’re all more concerned about being re-elected than in enacting meaningful change. Every year we spend our time talking about the upcoming election, but what comes of it? Those in our industry need to think about any election’s influence on housing and our own business.” In that case, join the Mortgage Action Alliance: it’s free and there’s strength in numbers. (Found here, this week’s podcast is sponsored by Richey May, a recognized leader in providing specialized advisory, audit, tax, technology and other services to the mortgage industry for almost four decades. Hear an Interview with Richey May’s Tyler House on the importance of data integrity for companies looking to make informed decisions.)

Lender and Broker Services, Products, and Software

Truv saves lenders 60-80 percent over competitors. That’s the savings of multiple full-time employees. For example, Compass Mortgage saved roughly 60 percent in verification costs and maintained their same conversion rate. “Truv has given us the ability to lower costs, all while speeding up the verification process and providing better employment data” said Justin Venhousen, COO, Compass Mortgage. Stop wasting money. Contact TRUV today to discuss how we can help you with your income, employment, insurance, and asset verifications.

Mapping and Fair Lending: How the Agencies Use Your HMDA Data. What do the agencies do with your HMDA data? The answer: they map it. As the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) put it, “a picture” of your financial institution’s mortgage lending patterns “is worth a thousand words.” In a new article, experts from Ncontracts explore ways examiners use data visualization to track HMDA compliance and how you can deploy maps to tell your fair lending compliance story. Additionally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently emphasized that “CRA and fair lending are mutually reinforcing.” How did the CRA Final Rule change the assessment areas maps for CRA compliance and fair lending enforcement? We’ll explore this and more. Read the full blog for more.

Stop losing money on loans with an end-to-end mortgage platform built for profitability. To achieve profitable mortgage lending, you need solutions built for your bottom line. Maxwell’s tech-enabled platform enhances each step of the process, from point of sale to the secondary market. You’ll gain competitive secondary market pricing on a wide array of products, including non-QM and jumbo, with wholesale and correspondent offerings. Maxwell Capital customers leveraging Maxwell Point of Sale experience a 5.9 percent higher pull-through rate compared to a top competitor, increasing and accelerating closes, while built-in business intelligence tracks and benchmarks performance. Schedule a call with our team to learn more about Maxwell Capital and Maxwell Point of Sale to ensure profitability on every mortgage origination.

Here are some signs that you need to upgrade your online loan portal: Your borrowers can never figure out how to log in. Your loan officers would rather take an application over the phone than direct someone to the online application. Everyone defaults to emailing documents back and forth because the portal is terrible. In a world where online experience matters, this isn’t acceptable. Check out LiteSpeed by LenderLogix and deliver a beautiful borrower experience that seamlessly integrates with Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology.

TPO, Broker, and Correspondent Product News

“At eRESI Mortgage, we’ve been busy making moves. We recently introduced over 40 guideline enhancements and improvements on LLPAs, which will help our lender partners become more competitive. Our fast turn-times and these improvements make eRESI an easy choice for those seeking a consistent correspondent Non-QM partner. Want to learn more? We are offering a webinar tomorrow where our Head of Credit, Amanda Roccia, will outline our latest guideline improvements. If you are interested, sign up by emailing Client Support or Peter Heintz. We are committed to your success and aim to provide you momentum with our enhanced Non-QM product offerings. For more information on how working with us can help grow your business, don’t hesitate to contact our business development team at sales@eresimortgage.com or your eRESI representative today.”

American Financial Resource’s (AFR) new management team brought in world class capital market team members that have already orchestrated remarkable changes that will leave you wondering, “Is this real?” Yes, it is! Explore AFR today and be amazed by competitive pricing on conventional loans (extending beyond specialty businesses), unbelievable pricing for loan amounts under $300k, irresistible rates on Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Advantage Program, and more! Visit AFR’s Quick Pricer tool to witness the impact now. AFR is ready to redefine your expectations. Also, if you haven’t already, turn AFR on in your bulk bid pricing engine and make sure to note, 24 to 48 hour turn times from collateral receipt to funding! Don’t miss out on the future of pricing excellence with AFR! Ensure you’re leveraging all AFR benefits by reaching out to our Account Executives at sales@afrwholesale.com or 1-800-375-6071. Not yet a client? Partner with AFR today!

Conventional Conforming Program News

Freddie Mac and Fannie May’s changes impact investor and lender product offerings, as well as their policies and procedures. Let’s check in with the Agencies.

Along with the March Loan Product Advisor® (LPASM) release, Freddie Mac announced that, later this year, lenders will be required to include trended credit data in credit reports for LPA submissions. View the Freddie Mac Article to get more information about these announcements and a preview of feedback messages that will be effective soon.

Learn how you can remediate your risk of repurchase by leveraging Fannie Mae’s Notice of Potential Defect. This new Loan Quality Connect notification allows you 30 days to remedy an eligibility issue prior to issuance of a resolution request. Watch Fannie Mae’s Notice of Potential Defect eLearning video.

Last year, the London Stock Exchange Group announced the retirement of the Refinitiv brand, replacing “Refinitiv” with “FTSE” in its interest rate product names. This change affects only Single-Family legacy LIBOR ARM loans using the Refinitiv name. On March 25, Fannie Mae will update all references to Refinitiv on its website, Learn about the rebranding.

Discover key resources in Freddie Mac learning, check out FreddieEd Quarterly. What’s New Topics: Introduction to Reconciling P&I Custodial Accounts Webinar. The Power of One Asset Verification Report with Loan Product Advisor® Webinar. Condo Project Advisor®: Project Certified Submission Tutorial. Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Reference Tool. AIM for Income Using Employment Data Digitized Paystubs and W-2s Job Aid.

Opportunities to increase your knowledge, check out Got Five Minutes? Condominium Project Status Inquiry and Appeal Request Learning Clip. AIM for Income Using Employment Data Digitized Paystubs and W-2s Learning Clip. Loan Selling Advisor® Release Spotlight Reference Tool. Pair Off Mandatory Cash Contracts Tutorial.

In Case You Missed It… highlighted resources from previous editions of FreddieEd Quarterly: Ready, Set, Resolve® Tutorial (30 mins) – Learn more about Freddie Mac ULDD Phase 5, which introduces new data points and updates to existing data points that support business critical requirements. PAID: RPA the Right Way Tutorial (30 mins) … This interactive tutorial will increase your understanding of the components of a Request for Prior Approval (RPA).

Underwriting Fluctuating Income Webinar (1.5 hrs.) … Learn how to document fluctuating income, calculation methods and discuss when additional documentation may be needed.

GreenCHOICE Mortgages®: An Energy Efficient Offering Tutorial (10 mins) – Learn how GreenCHOICE Mortgage offering allows borrowers to finance energy and/or water efficiency improvements.

Get the latest in mortgage solutions for today’s housing market from industry leaders who share insights and actionable strategies you can use today. On this week’s episode of The Way Home, guest host Katie Givens, Freddie Mac’s Director of Sales, chats with Jennifer Whip, Principal, Cambridge One, LLC, to explore the actionable strategies to, and benefits of, becoming an approved Freddie Mac Seller or Servicer.

Fannie Mae updated its “In Case You Missed It” resource, which provides an overview of policy changes, including Selling Guide updates, Servicing Guide updates, Lender Letters, and Desktop Underwriter®/Desktop Originator® release notes.

Get more out of your post-purchase review and avoid risk of repurchase by leveraging the Notice of Potential Defect. This month’s Quality Insider outlines why this feature has been reintroduced and how it can help lenders resolve significant defects before the issuance of a resolution request.

Capital Markets: Credit Scoring News

“Regardless of the rate environment, having an effective pricing strategy can be the difference between a lender’s success or failure. In today’s market, having a refined pricing strategy that optimizes revenue on originations can help lenders capture every critical basis point available to them. At Optimal Blue, we have the experience of working with over 1,000 lenders and have recognized industry best practices for margin management. Our recently published white paper, “Refining Margin Management to Improve Loan Profitability and Reduce Risk,” shares those best practices and how they relate to different pricing, hedging, and loan sale strategies. Request the free white paper to discover knowledge and tools that can help you be successful.”

What happens in the secondary markets directly impacts what happens in the primary markets where LOs and lenders are working with borrowers. I mention this because FICO announced that Cardinal Financial was the latest in the movement to adopt FICO® Score 10 T for non-conforming mortgage loans. Cardinal is also the first to plan to issue a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Mortgage- Backed Security (MBS) using FICO’s newest and most predictive scoring model. “As part of this, Cardinal will integrate FICO® Score 10 T into its proprietary loan origination software, Octane®, to provide an enhanced valuation of the company’s portfolio. With the adoption of FICO Score 10 T, Cardinal can benefit from a more predictive and precise scoring model, to help enable the lender to increase its VA loan production and help more veterans buy a home.

Recall that in January CrossCountry Mortgage (CCM) adopted FICO® Score 10 T, “FICO’s newest, most innovative, and most predictive scoring model to support origination and decision making for non-conforming loans.” “CCM is the first mortgage lender to commit to issuing MBS exclusively based on FICO® Score 10 T.”

Turning our attention to the daily bond market activity, and therefore mortgage rates, without any economic releases of consequence yesterday this week started off slowly. The highlights of this week will be the February prepayment speed release tomorrow afternoon followed by payrolls on Friday.

Fed Chair Powell will deliver his semiannual monetary policy testimony before Congress this week. As housing remains out of reach for the middle class and the biggest contributor to inflation overall, the jobs report will arrive just 12 days before the next Fed meeting on March 20. To bring down inflation, the Fed will likely be forced to take actions that will make housing even more unaffordable. Job growth is expected to have moderated in February after an unexpectedly strong 353k jobs were added in January.

Fed Chair Powell’s congressional testimony, kicking off tomorrow, is expected to provide reassurances that a more accommodative rate environment is around the corner. The most recent expectations imply that the first 25 basis point cut is likely to come at the June 12th FOMC Meeting with 75 basis points of total easing for the year. The Fed’s Beige Book, due out tomorrow, is likely to report modest growth in economic activity, with slower price increases from businesses. The unemployment rate is likely to edge higher in February on an increase in labor force participation. The uptick in mortgage rates since January likely slowed housing activity.

Today’s economic calendar kicks off later this morning with Redbook same store sales for the week ending March 2, and will be followed by final February S&P Global services PMI, ISM non-manufacturing PMI for February, January factory orders, and remarks from Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Barr. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices better than Monday evening by nearly .125, the 10-year yielding 4.19 after closing yesterday at 4.22 percent, and the 2-year hovering around 4.58.

AE Jobs

REMN Wholesale is seeking “success-driven” Wholesale Account Executives nationwide. As one of the most tenured wholesale lending sales and operations teams in the industry, REMN brings decades of unwavering support to mortgage brokers throughout the 50 states where they are licensed and/or authorized to conduct business. REMN products range from their nationally recognized REMN HELOC PROGRAM to their Access (Non-QM) Program covering DSCR, Bank Statement, Asset Qualifier, P&L Statement Only; 1099 ONLY, Full Doc, Foreign National (including Condotels). Why REMN? In a nutshell… it’s their attention to support. With HELOCs, REMN’s not the only digital HELOC wholesale lender – but they’re certainly a top provider. Their in-house HelpDesk significantly improves your opportunity for success. Changing gears, REMN’s truly a one-stop-shop. This includes Renovation Loans, FHA, VA, USDA, etc. REMN’s committed to earning their customers next loan (Broker and Non Del). REMN Wholesale is ONLY wholesale, every day… 24/7. Contact Carl Markman, Director of National Sales.