The strange litigation onslaught against CrossCountry Mortgage

There’s a mountain of accusations of poaching complaints against CrossCountry Mortgage, which have raised eyebrows in the mortgage industry. An inexhaustive list includes lawsuits from LoanDepot, Freedom Mortgage, Homeside Financial, Guild Mortgage, and Caliber Home Loans. But the lender has another explanation for the legal actions. "It is no surprise CrossCountry Mortgage has been able to attract great talent, talent others would sue to keep," CrossCountry spokesperson Alicia Mauer told National Mortgage News. "We look forward to recruiting, attracting and growing more great talent. We wish our competition had that courage."?

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Big banks, nonbanks largely absent from FHFA's Home Loan bank inquiryDozens of community bankers flocked to Washington this past week to discuss the relevance of the Federal Home Loan Bank System. The regulatory review may determine whether the little-known but politically powerful cooperative is fulfilling its congressionally mandated mission to "provide reliable liquidity to its member institutions to support housing finance and community investment." Of the 85 speakers who were each given just six minutes to talk as part of a three-day "listening session" by the FHFA, roughly 75 were either community bankers that are members of the system or nonprofit housing groups that rely on the system for affordable housing grants.

Mortgage production activity down 60%

Under the weight of higher interest rates, mortgage production activity took a nosedive in September, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline, Black Knight said. Rate lock dollar volume was down 9.9% month-over-month and at its lowest level since December 2019, according to the data vendor's monthly origination report. Lock volumes fell by 30% between July and September. Year-over-year, rate lock volume was down a staggering 60%.

Finance of America to end wholesale lending

Finance of America is shutting down its wholesale operations amid heavy losses and a wave of competitors also pulling back from the space. The company's mortgage division will stop funding and purchasing brokered or correspondent loans through its wholesale and non-delegated channels on Dec. 16, it said in a memo Friday to business partners reviewed by National Mortgage News. It stopped accepting new floating loans and forward mortgage locks last Friday evening.