Stocks

The private equity megalith's mortgage trust made a second-quarter net income of over $17.5 million and $85.2 million in core earnings.

Ocwen Financial's preliminary second-quarter results put it back in the black, and it is positioning its growing distressed-servicing expertise and pandemic-induced exposures as a net positive.

B. Riley FBR raised its ratings for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to sell from neutral on the possibility the net worth sweep is declared illegal.

Investors are looking past signs of weakness and toward an eventual recovery, but top executives at BlackRock, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and other financial firms remain cautious as many cities and states remain in partial lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

After ending 2019 on a high note, Ocwen Financial posted an income loss in the first quarter due to the unexpected costs and volatility created by COVID-19.

Three of the four had fewer new notices of delinquency for the quarter, but that should change going forward.

Declines in mortgage servicing rights valuations at JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo point to the resurgence of a dilemma that came up during the last downturn.

Two Harbors, a real estate investment trust, sold the bulk of its nonagency mortgage-backed securities portfolio to head off margin calls and refocus on its more favorable agency-MBS investments.

The cancellation by New Residential of a money-losing subservicing agreement should benefit Ocwen's financial results going forward, the company said.

Steeper rate declines contributed to a deeper quarterly net loss at Ocwen Financial, forcing it to extend its timeline for returning to profitability.

Mr. Cooper Group reported a second-quarter net loss of $87 million as the company took a $231 million fair value hit to its mortgage servicing rights portfolio.

New Residential Investment Corp. took a $32 million net loss in the second quarter as it diversified its business lines and repositioned to protect its mortgage servicing rights from falling rates.

Builder MDC Holdings' preliminary numbers for net new home orders registered their highest quarterly increase in years, adding to signs of growing demand for housing.

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.

New Residential priced its second stock offering in four months, looking for gross proceeds of nearly $665 million.

HomeStreet Bank will attempt to sell its stand-alone mortgage business and portfolio of servicing rights, a move that comes amid growing pressure from an activist investor to exit home lending and concerns about declining demand and regulatory challenges.

Citigroup's residential mortgage originations declined 23% and its home-loan revenue dropped by 35% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2018, as the company continued to distance itself from home loans.

New Penn Financial will change its name to NewRez at the start of 2019, reflecting its acquisition earlier this year by New Residential Investment Corp.

Consolidation is coming in the mortgage industry, but a protracted timetable will continue to constrict industry profits.

Continued diversification of its business lines and better margins in its securitization activities helped Redwood Trust overcome steep mortgage origination declines and post nearly 14% annual growth in net income during the third quarter.