Search This Blog

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Mortgage Picture Brightens for Banks



With the mortgage business showing signs of surprising strength, bank earnings could get a lift. The Mortgage Bankers Association's latest weekly mortgage applications survey showed the unadjusted purchase mortgage index up 3 percent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, in Fannie Mae's recent quarterly survey of senior mortgage-lender executives, more than 50 percent said demand for home loans had increased over the last three months. Seventy-one percent of lenders see demand for GSE-eligible purchase loans rising in the next three months, which has prompted a swing in profit hopes. At the end of last year, only 13 percent of executives expected better margins from mortgage lending. Currently, 41 percent do. Bigger mortgage lenders are more positive, thanks primarily to favorable interest rates. Last week, the 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 3.69 percent, marking a year-over-year decrease from 4.4 percent. Analysts say this current burst of activity will likely end if rates climb.

From "Mortgage Picture Brightens for Banks"
Wall Street Journal (03/30/15) P. C6 Carney, John

No comments:

Post a Comment