How will First Republic's failure impact the mortgage market?

The failure of First Republic Bank could restrict jumbo mortgage credit availability if balance-sheet lenders pull back from this business. However, the bank's niche in working with high wealth clients meant its residential mortgage business didn't often compete with other jumbo lenders. For example, First Republic offered many interest-only mortgages and it was willing to offer rate discounts or down payment credits based on the borrower's deposit relationship. "It's a very different lender from kind of everyday Main Street lending or even just everyday common jumbo lending," said John Toohig, managing director and head of the whole loan trading group at Raymond James. The biggest effect might be in certain high value metro areas, including the New York City area and parts of California and Florida.

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Fannie Mae's 1Q single-family purchases lowest in 2 decades

Fannie Mae's earnings increased on a quarter-to-quarter basis as the company set aside less money for potential credit losses, although its net income was still lower than for the same period last year. However, the government-sponsored enterprise had its worst quarter for single-family mortgage acquisitions since the third quarter of 2000. "It's no surprise that the turmoil in the banking sector during the first quarter added to the existing backdrop of economic uncertainties," Fannie Mae CEO Priscilla Almodovar said during the call. Fannie Mae had net income of $3.8 billion for the first quarter, helped by that $3.2 billion reduction in its credit loss provision.?

IMBs fail to include race data in HMDA reporting more often than banks and credit unions

Independent mortgage banks have been inconsistent in reporting race information when filing Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, an analysis by the California Reinvestment Coalition found. The CRC argues in its report that the lack of race-related data minimizes the ability of researchers to study lending patterns, and puts into question whether nonbanks actually reign supreme in lending to minority borrowers. A comparison of 2021 HMDA data filed by nonbanks with those of banks and credit unions showed that independent mortgage banks lagged behind their counterparts in reporting race-related details.?

Departing Rocket Mortgage CEO had a salary boost in 2022

Jay Farner, the soon-to-be-retired CEO of Rocket Mortgage, saw his compensation package balloon in 2022 compared to a year prior. Farner's pay was $9.46 million last year, almost five times larger than his yearly income in 2021 of $1.6 million, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in late-April. The increase mainly stemmed from stock awards, of which Farner received $8.7 million. This also resulted in Rocket executives such as Bob Walters, COO of Rocket, and Brian Brown, CFO of Rocket, seeing a notable boost in their overall compensation package, receiving $3.2 million and $3.04 million from stock awards, respectively.

Cardinal Financial to settle telemarketing lawsuit for $7M

Cardinal Financial will pay $7.2 million to settle a class-action lawsuit arising from alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The resolution impacts consumers approached by the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender without consent during a five-year period between November 2017 and November 2022. In resolving the case, Cardinal agreed to reward compensation to affected parties but did not admit to committing any infractions. Approximately 141,049 members were included as part of the lawsuit, with each claimant eligible for a payment of up to $51, according to the settlement.?

SoFi will 'always' stay in student lending, despite challenges: CEO Noto

SoFi Technologies is expecting to turn a profit by the end of the year following a quarter of growth in deposits and in personal loan originations, despite continued headwinds in its bread-and-butter business of student lending. SoFi said on its first quarter earnings call that it plans to begin turning around its home lending business, which has also been sputtering with macroeconomic headwinds. The company acquired Wyndham Capital Mortgage, a fintech that specializes in mortgage lending, at the beginning of the quarter. SoFi's quarterly home loans of $90 million were down 71% year over year.

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