Borrowing by Consumers at Eight-Month High

Today’s News Synopsis:

Borrowing by consumers in the US increased to an eight-month high to $20.5 billion.  Following Freddie Mac’s announcement this week, Fannie Mae announced its net income at $1.9 billion.  Freddie Mac reported mortgage rates increased 0.6% with 30-year rates now at 3.80% and 15-year rates at 3.02%.

In The News:

Mortgage Professional America – “The future of employment in the mortgage industry” (5-7-15)

“The past few years for the mortgage industry have been rocky, to say the least. With a challenging economy and ever increasing regulation, our future has become unstable.”

Bloomberg – “Consumer Borrowing in U.S. Increased by Most in Eight Months” (5-7-15)

“American consumer borrowing rose in March by the most in eight months, helped by a rebound in credit card debt after two straight declines.  The $20.5 billion increase in total credit followed a revised $14.8 billion gain in the previous month, Federal Reserve figures showed Thursday in Washington.”

Housing Wire – “Fannie Mae: More consumers positive on housing, but still on sidelines” (5-7-15)

“Results from Fannie Mae’s April 2015 National Housing Survey show some improvement in housing sentiment, but likely not enough to trigger any breakout improvements in housing market activity this year.”

DS News – “Regulatory Changes, Reputational Risk, Economics Are Factors in Shift to Non-Bank Servicing” (5-7-15)

“The rules for originating a mortgage have changed in the seven years since the housing crisis, which in turn have changed loan servicing and even caused a transition of servicing from banks to non-depository institutions.”

Housing Wire – “Fannie Mae reports net income of $1.9B in 1Q” (5-7-15)

“Fannie Mae reported net income of $1.9 billion for the first quarter of 2015 and comprehensive income of $1.8 billion.  The government-sponsored enterprise reported a positive net worth of $3.6 billion as of March 31, 2015 resulting in a dividend obligation to Treasury of $1.8 billion, which the company expects to pay in June 2015.”

Bloomberg – “These Are the Top 20 U.S. Metro Areas for Flipping a Home” (5-7-15)

“Home flippers turned a quick and tidy profit on their real estate investments in Baltimore, Central Florida, and Detroit last quarter, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac.”

DS News – “Monitor: Ocwen Failed Part of Compliance Test; Internal Review Group Has Improved” (5-7-15)

“Retesting of Ocwen Financial’s compliance with the terms of the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement(NMS) for the first quarter of 2014 revealed that the Atlanta-based servicer failed one metric originally reported as a pass, but passed the other eight metrics, according to a release from the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight.”

Housing Wire – “Freddie Mac: Mortgage rates rise 0.6%” (5-7-15)

“Average fixed mortgage rates following 10-year Treasury yields moved slightly higher in the week ending May 7, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.”