Servicing

Although the performance of the government-sponsored enterprises' single-family loans continues to improve, the deeply delinquent totals remain significant in states with court-processed foreclosures.

The mortgage agency has hired Eric Blankenstein, who sparked controversy while at the consumer bureau over past revelations of racially charged writings.

Prepayment speeds for loans included in agency mortgage-backed securities were up approximately 20% both monthly and annually during May as the decline in interest rates boosted activity, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

The Mortgage Bankers Association created a template for originators to notify new borrowers when their adjustable-rate mortgage switches to a different index once publication of the London interbank offered rate discontinues.

The large number of overleveraged commercial mortgage-backed securities loans coming due in 2019 is likely to cause the payoff rate to drop an additional 9 percentage points by December, a Morningstar report said.

Delinquencies associated with the government-sponsored enterprises high loan-to-value ratio programs that target low-to-moderate income homebuyers are slightly better than expected, at least early on, according to Fitch.

The potential for longer homeowner recovery times from hurricanes could hurt mortgage companies that need to advance funds to investors from missed payments.

Private-label mortgage securitizations with variable servicing fee arrangements could become more common going forward as issuers look to increase investor cash flow while reducing the loan servicer's economic exposure, Fitch said.

Commercial mortgages placed into special servicing grew last year, but default and foreclosure dollar volume fell as legacy loan resolutions outpaced newly distressed loans, according to Fitch Ratings.

Freddie Mac's latest nonperforming mortgage auction will include one pool targeted to smaller investors like nonprofit organizations.

Caliber Home Loans settled a grievance with the Massachusetts attorney general over allegations of providing distressed borrowers with unaffordable loan modifications.

The bank agreed to modify loans to struggling U.S. borrowers as part of a 2017 settlement. Instead, it’s receiving credit for financing new mortgages that likely would have been made anyway.

The moves are part of an ongoing effort by the Seattle bank to largely exit mortgage lending.

Controlling classes of investors in commercial mortgage-backed securitizations can replace a special servicer, but before they do, they should make sure the long and potentially expensive process is worth it.

Now that Ocwen settled the servicing practices lawsuit brought by the Massachusetts attorney general, just two outstanding complaints remain from the 30 filed nearly two years ago.

Freddie Mac exchanged existing bonds from its portfolio for mirror certificates for the first time, completing a key test that is central to the creation of a uniform mortgage-backed security.

In a unanimous ruling, the court placed new limits on the ability of consumers to sue law firms that handle foreclosures on behalf of mortgage servicers.

Two Harbors Investment Corp., which grew its servicing portfolio by 22% in the fourth quarter, priced a common stock offering to raise funds to buy more rights as well as mortgage-backed securities.

Ginnie Mae could limit how much servicing income mortgage lenders can sell off through a transaction if they don't establish a minimum 25-basis-point spread at the portfolio level by next year.

Fewer mortgage borrowers are falling behind on their payments, and consumers' broader borrowing habits indicate an increased willingness to turn to nontraditional sources like fintechs for their lending needs, according to TransUnion.