Rocket has $493M loss in 4Q, teases homeownership credit card rewards

"Profitability is a priority and you can see it in the expense numbers, but we're not here to sacrifice long-term results," said Brian Brown, chief financial officer on the earnings call. Between the third and fourth quarters, Rocket reduced its total expenses by $202 million, beating its initial expectations of between $50 million and $100 million.? Rocket conducted two rounds of voluntary buyouts of undisclosed size during 2022; in January it laid off 70 employees in two reductions. The loss was announced shortly after the company revealed plans to change up its leadership, with CEO Jay Farner set to leave in June to be replaced by Rock Holdings Vice Chairman Bill Emerson on an interim basis.

READ MORE: Rocket has $493M loss in 4Q, teases homeownership credit card rewards

Black Knight 4Q earnings fall 71% from previous year

In the most recent period, the company earned $17.6 million, compared with $30 million in the third quarter and $60.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. But strong performance earlier in the year, enhanced by a $305.4 million gain from the exchange of a portion of its shares in Dun & Bradstreet for the remaining 40% stake in Optimal Blue, led Black Knight to report 12-month net earnings of $452.5 million, up from $207.9 million in 2021. Because of the pending merger with Intercontinental Exchange, Black Knight did not do a conference call this quarter. But the results release came the day after a published report that the Federal Trade Commission is expected to file a lawsuit to quash the transaction.

Black home equity grew faster than other groups in the pandemic: Zillow

Black homeowners recorded the highest growth rate in residential property equity compared with other groups since the start of the pandemic, accelerating a trend in place since 2014, Zillow said. That helped to narrow the difference between the overall equity for all U.S. homes and those for Black-owned properties to the narrowest point since the turn of the century. A 2021 Zillow study found that even in the most optimistic scenario, in which Black home values grow 15% faster than the overall market and the homeownership grows at 1.5 percentage points per year, it would take about 45 years from then, until 2066, to achieve housing wealth equality.

Prosperity Home Mortgage acquires consumer direct lender

Prosperity Home Mortgage, a lender under the massive Berkshire Hathaway real estate umbrella, has acquired direct-to-consumer business JFQ Lending, it announced. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, according to the press release Tuesday by Prosperity, a subsidiary of HomeServices of America. JFQ Lending will operate Prosperity's Consumer Direct Division at its call center in Scottsdale, Arizona.? The Chantilly, Virginia-based Prosperity counted $25 billion in production from over 500 mortgage consultants between 2021 and 2022, it said. JFQ was founded in 2017 and counts 162 employees on LinkedIn.?

Ocwen takes quarterly loss on drop in MSR values

Declines in asset valuations and tepid originations amid a decline in rates drove a fourth-quarter loss at Ocwen Financial, but full-year profit rose as it slashed costs and generated servicing gains. The company reported an $80 million loss for the three-month period on mortgage servicing rights declines but $26 million in net income for the year. In comparison, it generated $37 million in net income in the third quarter of 2022 and $18 million for full-year 2021. The quarterly numbers highlight the reason management has been working to diversify in order to manage the company's exposure to MSRs, which can experience volatile swings in value between quarters.

LO accused of fabricating child support income docs for underwriting

A St. Cloud, Florida-based loan officer is accused of concocting child support documents, income statements and forging signatures of government officials to qualify borrowers for mortgage loans, according to an indictment published by the Department of Justice Monday. Omayra Ujaque is charged with three counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. If found guilty, the LO faces up to 30 years in federal prison on each bank fraud count and a mandatory consecutive two years imprisonment for aggravated identity theft. The DOJ did not mention whether the LO will have to pay restitution.??

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