JPMorgan eyes a return to HELOCs

JPMorgan Chase is considering offering more home equity lines of credit, a top executive said Monday, roughly two years after the megabank restricted the sometimes risky product. The comments by Marianne Lake, co-CEO of JPMorgan’s consumer and community banking unit, came at a time when rising interest rates have sparked higher borrower demand for home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs. Volume increased 31% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, according to TransUnion data.

READ: JPMorgan eyes a return to HELOCs

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In other news today:

Ocwen stock buyback spotlights strategy nonbanks are weighing

Ocwen on Monday announced that it would be repurchasing up to $50 million in shares. Buybacks have hit record highs in the market in general, partly because companies want to reassure investors amid volatility that’s depressed some trading prices. In addition to Ocwen, PennyMac Financial Services and Mr. Cooper recently engaged in or signaled interest in buybacks, as have others.

Publicly traded lenders are managing margins by lowering volume

First quarter origination volume among the largest publicly traded mortgage lenders — both banks and nonbanks — was larger than forecast expectations for the industry, a sign these firms were managing margins, a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods report said. Meanwhile volume guidance for the current period indicates these large lenders "are at least temporarily backing away from growth," the report written by Bose George, Michael Smyth and Thomas McJoynt-Griffith said. "We think this should help limit downside to margins, although profitability will depend on cutting costs."

Mortgage industry needs climate plan sooner than later: panel

Although mortgage industry players might not see an immediate need to address climate change, businesses that try to get ahead of the game now will benefit, risk experts say. All vectors indicate that a climate-risk plan will be a necessary part of doing business, according to panelists at the Mortgage Bankers Association Secondary & Capital Markets Conference in New York last week.

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