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The Title Report Print Edition
August 6, 2012
Industry reacts to CFPB proposal.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau debuted its final rule proposal and mortgage disclosure forms on the title industry, which led us to ask: So, what do you think? Experts and insiders from around the industry responded to our Q&A and we have their insights posted throughout this edition.
Other standout features include:
- Live coverage of Fitch Ratings’ conference call regarding the state of the housing market and what it all means for its homebuilder forecast.
- A representative from an escrow organization in California discusses the protection procedures within the “escrow state” structute and what takeaways there are for the title insurance industry and its customers.
- The results from our reader poll: Should there be more regulation in the industry to protect escrow funds?
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 Fidelity boasts 24 percent increase in title margin, best since 2005
Posted Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Fidelity National Financial Inc. reported improved operating results in
most areas of the company for the first half of the year and the second
quarter, continuing many trends that have emerged in the past few
quarters. Subscribers, read on for more information on the national
underwriter’s earnings results as well as information from the investor
conference call.
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Fidelity appoints new SVP
Posted Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Fidelity National Title announced a new member has joined the company as
senior vice president, sales manager for San Diego County’s major
accounts and builder services division. Read on for more.
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NTC continues expansion by adding new employees
Posted Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Nationwide Title Clearing, a national firm that performs research services and processes documents
for the residential mortgage servicing industry, continues to grow,
adding 66 staff members in the last quarter, including 20 in June alone.
Read on for more.
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CFPB Webinar airing this Thursday
Posted Date: Friday, July 20, 2012
October Research LLC is airing Part 1 of its 2012 Dodd-Frank Webinar
Series this Thursday, July 26. Members of the mortgage, real estate and
settlement services industries are urged to attend this 60-minute
training. Read on for more on the topics covered and what benefits
participants will receive with their registration.
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Poll: Readers in favor of more regulation to protect from defalcations
Posted Date: Friday, July 20, 2012
Are states with more stringent regulations “safer” from defalcation?
Potentially, according to a Demotech report released in June. After the
report debuted, we took the discussion to our readers and asked this
question: Should all states adopt the NAIC Model Act or a higher
equivalent of regulation to help curb escrow theft? Read on for the
results and reader commentary.
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Advantage Title Inc. moves to official rebrand as Title365
Posted Date: Thursday, July 19, 2012
Advantage Title Inc., a nationwide provider of title insurance and
escrow services, announced that it is officially changing its name in
California to Title365 Co. effective immediately. Read on for more
information from the company.
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Refinance activity surges again
Posted Date: Thursday, July 19, 2012
Mortgage applications increased 16.9 percent from one week earlier,
according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly
Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 13 — once again on
the back of a huge boost in refinance activity. Read on for more.
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Live coverage: Fitch improves housing market, homebuilder outlook
Posted Date: Thursday, July 19, 2012
Fitch Ratings painted an optimistic picture of the homebuilding market
segment and the housing world in general in its Homebuilding Quarterly
Update conference call. … OK, so maybe optimism is still an
overstatement, but after years of negativity, especially in the
homebuilder segment, seeing increases of any kind is encouraging. Read
on for the detailed analysis from the ratings firm.
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Western Region Report: Bay Area insurance dollars on the rise
Posted Date: Thursday, July 19, 2012
The Western Region Report looks at the counties in the Bay Area of
California this month. Total dollars insured in the six-county Bay Area
region in Northern California has been trending sharply upward over the
past 12 months. Subscribers, read on for the key points, including the
top title company gainers.
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Near North welcomes addition of Hamilton business
Posted Date: Thursday, July 19, 2012
Hamilton Title Security LLC announced that it has sold its business to
Near North National Title LLC. Read on for more about the transaction
and the plans for both companies going forward.
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New report details suspicious activity reports on, from title industry
Posted Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Pressing forward in its efforts to address a wide range of criminal
risks, particularly in the residential real estate market, the Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released its first targeted study
analyzing reports indicating suspicious activities involving the title
and escrow industry.
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FNF reports quarterly cash dividend
Posted Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Fidelity National Financial Inc. a provider of title insurance, mortgage
services and restaurant and diversified services, announced that its
board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend. Read on for
the info.
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Counselors Title welcomes new attorney
Posted Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Counselors Title has announced a new member to join its team. His
position became effective July 9. Read on for more information on the
addition.
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Stewart appoints new vice president, regional underwriting counsel
Posted Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Stewart Title Guaranty Co. announced the appointment of a new vice
president and regional underwriting counsel for the Southeast region.
This position will be responsible for enhancing underwriting services in
the region. Read on for more.
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No bullet-proof system: How one escrow state tackles escrow security
Posted Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2012
As universal as the topic of escrow security is in the industry, there
are many diverse opinions, solutions and regulations. And as the title
industry, its customers and its regulators contemplate some serious
decisions (and some radical solutions) on how to best protect funds and
facilitate transactions, it’s important that all stones are unturned.
Today, we ‘unturn’ California’s stone. We reached out to the Escrow
Institute of California (EIC) to get a better understanding on how that
“escrow state” funct
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First half of 2012 yields 11 percent decrease in foreclosures from 2011
Posted Date: Friday, July 13, 2012
RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released
its Midyear 2012 Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of
1,045,801 U.S. properties with foreclosure in the first half of 2012, a 2
percent increase from the previous six months but still down 11 percent
from the first half of 2011. Read on for more from the first half
report.
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84 metros listed as improving housing markets in July
Posted Date: Friday, July 13, 2012
The list of U.S. housing markets showing measurable and sustained
improvement rose by four to include 84 metros in July, according to the
National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets
Index (IMI). Read on for more information.
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Dodd-Frank Webinar program trains on key areas
Posted Date: Friday, July 13, 2012
Dodd Frank Update is hosting a three-part Webinar series over the
next few months, designed to provide training on very important areas
industry members are facing this year under the Dodd-Frank Act and its
regulations. Topics such as new provisions from the CFPB and QM/QRM are
included. Read on for details of each Webinar and how to register.
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Linear Title & Closing expands its reach out West
Posted Date: Friday, July 13, 2012
Linear Title & Closing Ltd, a provider of title & closing
services for lenders, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Linear
Title Agency, has been awarded an escrow license from a state out West.
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ServiceLink acquires DRI , launches ServiceLink Fusion
Posted Date: Friday, July 13, 2012
ServiceLink, an end-to-end origination, servicing and default solutions
provider for 15 of the top 20 mortgage lenders and servicers, announced
the acquisition of Newport Beach, Calif.-based DRI Management Systems.
ServiceLink also announced the launch of ServiceLink Fusion, the
company’s new servicing workflow platform. Read on for more about both
of these moves.
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Old Republic announces Q2 2012 earnings call
Posted Date: Thursday, July 12, 2012
Old Republic International Corp. announced the official date and time of
its second quarter earnings report and conference call. Read on for all
of the investor access information.
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FICO, CoreLogic work to provide more predictive mortgage credit score
Posted Date: Thursday, July 12, 2012
CoreLogic, a provider of information, analytics and business services,
and FICO, the provider of predictive analytics and decision management
technology, jointly introduced a high-performance consumer credit risk
score that is expected to improve lending decision quality and increase
the number of mortgage loans lenders make. Read on for more information.
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Gateway Title discusses new web business strategy
Posted Date: Thursday, July 12, 2012
Tennessee-based Gateway Title Services announced an update to its
website that is part of a broader strategy to gain new customers.in an
ever-changing business landscape. Read on for some details of the
relaunch and what the company hopes to accomplish.
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National foreclosure inventory remains near all-time high
Posted Date: Thursday, July 12, 2012
The May Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services
shows that the nation's foreclosure inventory remains near all-time
highs, with 4.12 percent of all active mortgages in the foreclosure
pipeline in addition to the 3.2 percent that are 90 days or more
delinquent but have not yet begun the foreclosure process. Read on for
more.
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Leader of large-scale mortgage fraud scam pleads guilty
Posted Date: Thursday, July 12, 2012
The leader of one of the largest mortgage fraud schemes in history
pleaded guilty in federal court on July 5. Read on for details on the
scope of the scheme and the potential penalty.
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Slew of title jobs open in Baltimore
Posted Date: Thursday, July 12, 2012
Is business booming in Baltimore? Possibly. For title professionals in
the Baltimore area, or for those just looking for work and willing to
relocate, a trade journal compiled a list of local companies that are
hiring various positions. Read on for the full list.
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With spring buying season getting under way, how is the purchase side of your business looking this year? Your Comments:
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