Attitudes about the housing market see biggest improvement in 2 years

Consumer perspectives on the state of the housing market brightened in April, with decreasing mortgage rates providing a boost for their sunnier outlook, Fannie Mae said. The government-sponsored enterprise's Home Purchase Sentiment Index, a measure of consumer views on residential buying and selling based on responses to a monthly survey, jumped to a reading of 66.8 for April, up from 61.3 a month earlier and 58 in February. But year over year, the HPSI was still down 2.5% from a score of 68.5. The 9% monthly rise led the index to its highest point since last May when it stood at 68.2.

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CEO of shuttered Athas Capital launches new non-QM lending shop

One of the co-founders of now-shuttered Athas Capital Group is getting back into the game with the launch of a non-QM company in early May. Brian O'Shaughnessey's new lending outfit, dubbed Imperial Bancorp, LLC, will be up and running in a few months, depending on how quickly the executive can jump through the hoops of getting the mortgage shop licensed.? O'Shaughnessy plans to run a lean shop with a strong team of originators. "It's going to be a smaller crew with more dedication," he said.? The executive will be in hiring mode in the latter part of the year.

NASCAR team fires back in lender sponsorship lawsuit

Jesse Iwuji Motorsports is suing Equity Prime Mortgage for $4.1 million in a Florida federal court, claiming the firm stopped making six-figure monthly payments last September for commitments including stock car signage. The sides failed to reach an agreement in a mediation hearing last week, an attorney for JIM said Friday. The Atlanta-based lender filed a countersuit in February to JIM's complaint issued last December, placing the blame of the sponsorship breakdown on the racing team's own alleged admission of liability. The NASCAR team fired back Monday, asking a federal judge to strike down EPM's defenses.

Republic First to quit mortgages, scale back lending in NYC

Republic First Bancorp in Philadelphia has scaled back commercial lending in New York and plans to exit the mortgage origination business to cut costs and refocus resources on core markets and business lines. "While these were difficult decisions, especially because of the inherent reduction in force required, we strongly believe they are in the best interests of the company and will allow us to build a strong foundation for the future," Geisel said Friday in a press release. The $6.2 billion-asset Republic First did not say how many jobs it is eliminating.

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