LoanDepot hit with another shareholder suit

A shareholder filed a suit against loanDepot in mid-July alleging the lender misled investors in the lead-up to its initial public offering by artificially inflating the company's value. The lawsuit, filed in the Delaware Chancery Court by Hee Do Park, a current shareholder of loanDepot stock, is similar to one pegged against the lender by another shareholder last year. The new shareholder derivative complaint accuses former CEO Anthony Hseih, some board members, the company's former chief financial officer and its former chief accounting officer of breaching their fiduciary duty by not being honest with the investing public concerning the company's home lending practices, prospects, and capabilities.

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Rocket Mortgage employees offered voluntary buyouts

An undisclosed number of employees at Rocket Mortgage were offered voluntary buyouts by the lender Wednesday, as the company looks to shed headcount before releasing its second quarter earnings. This is at least the third time such an offer has been presented to employees since mid-2022. The company in a statement Thursday said it issued such options to "specific teams throughout Rocket…to voluntarily express interest in receiving a career transition incentive." This was done in order to "better align resources with the needs of both our business and today's mortgage market," noted Mike Malloy, Chief Administrative Officer at Rocket Central.

Mortgage rates shrink on positive inflation news

After coming very close to 7% last week, the average for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage backed down 18 basis points, as investors reacted to the positive surprise in the Consumer Price Index report, Freddie Mac said. Its Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the average for the 30-year fixed rate loan at 6.78% as of July 20. That was down from 6.96% last week, the highest point since November. For the same week last year, it averaged 5.54%. The 15-year FRM reported an even larger decline of 24 basis points, to 6.06% from 6.3%. But it is still well above the 4.75% average of one year ago.

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Troubled Doma sells Midwest and Texas retail title branches

Doma sold additional pieces of its retail title production business as part of the company's reorganization as it struggles to become profitable. Near North Title, a Chicago-area title agency, is the new owner of Doma's Midwest retail offices. The Texas offices were sold to Capital Title of Texas, a part of the Shaddock Title Cos. This is Near North's second significant transaction this year, following the purchase of another Chicago-based agency, O'Connor Title Guaranty. In this deal it picked up locations in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Terms of both transactions were not disclosed.

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