Mortgage Servicing News articles from April 2001

Mortgage Servicing News archives from April 2001

Issue Date Notice.
April 1, 2001... April, 2001

$170 Billion in Servicing for Sale.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... At least $170 billion - and perhaps more - in residential mortgage servicing rights are up for grabs. The largest portion of that amount involves $136 billion in servicing that belongs to Fleet Mortgage Group, Columbia, S.C. Talk of...

PENDING SERVICING AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... (Dollars in Millions) Amt. of Serv. Type of Name of Seller Offered Serv. Fleet Mortgage Group $ 136,396 bulk/franchise ABN AMRO Mortgage (1) $ 16,000 flow ...

Bankruptcy Bill Advances.
April 1, 2001... The House has passed a consumer bankruptcy bill by a 308-108 vote and the Senate is also expected to pass it, despite efforts of several Democratic senators to knock it off track. The House basically rubber-stamped the bankruptcy bill that...

Small Servicers Still Find Profitable Niche Markets.(mortgage loans)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The nation's biggest lenders are banking on economies of scale to make them the envy of the industry, but the data continues to show that smaller loan servicers match up well in terms of profitability, according to the chief economist of the...

Last Year's Loans Off To a Bad Start.(industry statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Among both prime and subprime credit quality loans, those originated in 2000 are off to a poor start compared to other recent vintages. What accounts for the class of 2000's bad reputation? Among conforming conventional loans, loans...

MSN/SPECIAL REPORT.
April 1, 2001... Default Time The legal, compliance and time management issues associated with loan defaults have always challenged lenders. With delinquency rates rising, it's time to prepare for the worst. Page 21 Copyright c 2001 Thomson Financial....

Budget Targets Vendee Loans and Flood Insurance.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... The Bush administration is recommending that the Department of Veterans Affairs eliminate its "vendee" program that allows the agency to makes loans directly to buyers of its foreclosed properties. The new administration also is proposing...

George Schwartz.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Mr. Schwartz has joined Cenlar FSB as senior vice president of loan servicing. Cenlar is one of the nation's largest subservicers. The firm currently services a portfolio of over $30 billion in mortgage loans. Before joining Cenlar, Mr....

In a Switch, New Century Says It Will Sell Its Servicing Portfolio to Ocwen.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Not long ago, New Century Financial Corporation had inked a deal to have Fairbanks Capital, Salt Lake City, subservice its multi-billion dollar servicing portfolio. But last month, New Century said it has decided to sell the bulk of its...

J.P. Morgan Chase Set To Buy Colson.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. announced that it will acquire Colson Services Corp. Colson provides financial record-keeping services for a variety of government-guaranteed and non-guaranteed loan programs. Currently, Colson services about...

Thrifts Saw Servicing Income Exceed the $1 Billion Mark Last Year.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Thrift servicing fee income broke through the $1 billion mark in the fourth quarter, according to the Office of Thrift Supervision. The thrift industry also posted strong earnings for the year. Servicing fee income rose 9.2% from...

Banks See Rise In Problem Loans.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Non-performing loans in the U.S. banking industry grew 15% during the first nine months of 2000, according to Weiss Ratings Inc. here. That was a sharp increase from 1999, when non-performers grew at a 2.9% rate for the entire year. As...

Snapshot: Non-performing loans as a % of core capital and reserves.(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... 1995: 8.63% 1996: 7.99% 1997: 7.26% 1998: 7.05% 1999: 6.71% 2000: 7.22% Source: Weiss Ratings Inc. Copyright c 2001 Thomson Financial. All Rights Reserved.

Predatory Lending.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... There was a lot to talk about at the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference in San Antonio this year. Refinancing activity, privacy regulations, FAS 133, default management and Internet servicing were among the hot topics. But one sleeper...

HUD Focus Stays On Homeownership.(Department of Housing and Urban Development)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... President Bush's budget proposals for next year call for modest growth in some discretionary spending programs overall, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development will see some budget austerity. Nonetheless, a summary of the...

Mortgage Scene: The Best Advice for Fannie Mae: Make Love, Not War.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... On March 8 FM Watch - formed to control GSE "charter creep" -dropped a hand grenade in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's front yard when its chairman Gerald Friedman declared, via press release, that its board members have "been systematically...

Speed Watch: Streamlined Refinancing Helps To Fuel Latest Rise in Prepayment Speeds.(mortgage-backed securities)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Prepayment rates for Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities increased across the board in the February report, surpassing the speeds of comparable Freddie Mac MBS, some of which had soared. However, the speeds fell short of the worst-case...

'Hybrid ARMs' Are Less Rate Sensitive.(adjustable rate mortgages)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... A growing volume of MBS backed by "hybrid" adjustable rate mortgages has created a need for more information about the prepayment characteristics of these loans, according to Greenwich Capital Markets here. A Greenwich Capital study of...

Hedging: New Accounting Rules Put Focus on Servicing Valuation Methodology.(Financial Accounting Statement 133 for mortgage lenders)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... As lenders struggle to implement new accounting procedures, they are also are starting to grapple with the ramifications that the rules may have on their business. Financial Accounting Statement 133, which is starting to take effect this...

Consumers Want Online Customer Service Features.(mortgage lenders)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Consumer use of the Internet has ramped up far more quickly than when other technologies were adopted in earlier decades, such as radio and television. And as the dust begins to settle, we are getting a glimpse of what this means for...

NTC Offers To Help With CA Releases.(Nationwide Title Clearing, California re-conveyances)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Nationwide Title Clearing recently introduced a new service to process California re-conveyances in response to changing requirements in the Golden State. A recent Appeals Court ruling has raised the threat that lenders will face more...

Evolution of Computer Power Allows 'New Paradigm' for Servicing Systems.(mortgage loan servicing systems)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... The most widely used systems for automating loan administration are out of date, according to one mortgage industry executive who spoke at the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference here. "Most servicing systems on the market today...

Freddie Mac Launches Enhancements to Technology.(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Freddie Mac formally unveiled an enhanced version of its investor accounting software and informally announced an upcoming pilot program to make its collections software available over the Internet with an open, shared database. Freddie...

Fannie Achieves New Workout High.(Federal National Mortgage Association's lending volume in 2000)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Fannie Mae announced that it achieved a 53% work out ratio on loan defaults last year, a company record. Joe Sakole, Fannie Mae's vice president of loss mitigation, said the workout ratio means Fannie Mae was able to help a greater...

Privacy, Predatory Lending Top the Industry's List of Legal Concerns.(mortgage lenders)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The hottest consumer advocacy issues facing the industry right now are privacy rules and predatory lending, according to attorneys who spoke at the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference here. And it's not just the risk of litigation...

Captain James Lovell, Jr.(main speaker at Mortgage Bankers Association's conference)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Captain Lovell, an astronaut who survived the ill-fated Apollo XIII mission, was the keynote speaker at the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference in San Antonio. After speaking, he signed autographs in the exhibit hall. Copyright c...

Loan Brokers Compete For Customer Loyalty.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Over-capacity in the loan origination business is making it more difficult for loan servicers to hold onto their customers during periods of heavy refinancing, according to an industry consultant. Timothy Ryan of PricewaterhouseCoopers...

Wilshire Acquires $500 Million Servicing Portfolio from Life Bank.(Wilshire Credit Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Wilshire Financial Services Group announced that its servicing subsidiary, Wilshire Credit Corporation, has finalized an agreement to buy Life Bank's portfolio of servicing rights. The transaction involves some 5,000 loans with a cumulative...

Fannie Mae Foundation Offers Help To Washington Area Shelters.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... In a special ceremony here, the Fannie Mae Foundation distributed over $6 million to 205 nonprofits that provide services to the homeless in the greater Washington area and announced four winners of its "Good Neighbor" award. Raised...

Servicers Ranked by Number of Loans Serviced at 12/31/00.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name, Location 1 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Des Moines, IA 2 Chase Manhattan Mortgage, Edison, NJ 3 Bank of America Mortgage, Charlotte, NC 4 Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Calabasas, CA...

Credit Counselor: With Economy Cooling Off, Lenders Tighten Standards.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... While defaults and delinquencies are inherent in the mortgage industry, they are a special concern for those dealing with subprime loans. In the last two years, in the subprime market, there have been fewer programs that allow for...

Option One Chooses Vendor for Technology Initiative.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Subprime mortgage lender Option One has chosen Entex IT here as its technology vendor for a company initiative to migrate over 2,000 users to a new work station environment. Entex IT, a unit of Siemens, won the contract in part because of...

Eric Scholtz.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Residential Funding Corporation (GMAC-RFC), Minneapolis, has named Eric Scholtz as executive vice president of capital markets for the company's Residential Capital Group, which is RFC's U.S. mortgage banking and securitization business. ...

Insurance Adds Value To Troubled Junior Liens.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Distressed debt buyers occasionally ask about buying some of the loans from Universal Assurors Agency Inc.'s subperforming junior lien mortgage portfolio, but they never seem to offer the right price as far as the company is concerned. ...

10 Lowest Delinquency Rates Based on the Number of Loans Serviced at 12/31/00.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name Location 1 Plymouth Mortgage Co. Middleboro, MA 2 Union Bank of California San Diego, CA 3 USAA Federal Savings Bank San Antonio, TX 4 B.F....

10 Lowest Delinquenies Based on the Unpaid Principal Balance at 12/31/00.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name Location 1 Washington Federal Savings Seattle, WA 2 First Hawaiian Bank Honolulu, HI 3 Banc One Mortgage Corp. Indianapolis, IN 4 First...

Commercial: Collateral Mortgage Exceeds $2 Billion Portfolio Mark.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Collateral Mortgage here has topped $2 billion in commercial and multifamily mortgage servicing. David Roberts, president and chief operating officer of the company, said last December was a busy month. "In that month alone, we closed...

Bank of New York Offers CMBS Trustee Services.(commercial mortgage backed securities)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... By expanding its trust services to include the commercial mortgage real estate industry, The Bank of New York said it now provides a full range of services to the CMBS industry. The Bank of New York is already a CMBS servicer through one...

Snapshot: Collateral Mortgage's portfolio.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Size: $2 billion in loans Growth: 24% in 2000 Originations: $600 Million in 2000 Copyright c 2001 Thomson Financial. All Rights Reserved.

Commercial Service: Analysts See Reason to Be Cautious About Investing in Apartments.(multifamily real estate investment trusts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Contrary to a lot of other research sources, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is now "less bullish" on multifamily REITs, believing that "much of the rationale for owning multifamily assets during a slowing economy has already been priced into the...

Customers Forever Moves Into New Offices.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Customers Forever, a company that describes itself as a private-label Internet mortgage manufacturer, has moved into a new, larger headquarters to increase its capacity to 65,000 closed loans per year. The new location, in Menomonee Falls,...

GMAC Adds MERS To All Loan Channels.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... MERS, formally Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc., announced recently that GMAC Mortgage is registering loans from all production channels on the system. GMAC opened its retail, direct lending, wholesale and correspondent...

Regulator Watch: FEMA Flood Maps Can Now Be Ordered Online.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Mortgage lenders and other business users of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Flood Insurance Rate Maps can now order maps online through FEMA's new, electronic map service center, which can be found at www.fema.gov/msc, the agency...

Baker Pursues Regulatory Push.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Some Congressional leaders continue to believe that the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight needs stronger enforcement tools to oversee the safety and soundness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which both last month received strong...

Regulator Watch: Bush Administration Wants To Tighten Its Reins on FHA Lenders.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... In the first outline of the President's budget priorities, the Bush administration is proposing to tighten monitoring of Federal Housing Administration single family lenders and to increase homeownership opportunities. The budget document...

EDS and Abbey National Team Up to Service Home Loans in the U.K.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Abbey National has agreed to a joint venture with Electronic Data Systems to service Abbey's retail mortgage and personal loans. Furthermore, the venture will perform the same services for other lenders in the United Kingdom and Europe...

Australian MBS Deal Sees Strong Demand.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... HomeSide International and National Australia Bank have reported that they have priced and completed their first global mortgage-backed securitization, which company officials say was met with "substantial investor interest." Class "A"...

Huntington Bank Uses New Software to Enhance Collections Effort.(from CenterForce Technologies Inc.,)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Huntington Bank here has increased the productivity of two of its collections call centers by purchasing Optimizer software from CenterForce Technologies Inc., Bethesda, Md. The call centers, located in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, collect...

Jamaican Loans And REO for Sale.(Ocwen Financial helps liquidate assets for Financial Sector Adjustment Co.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Ocwen Financial Corp. has begun marketing nonperforming loans and real estate assets from a $1 billion Jamaican portfolio, the company said last month. Ocwen has agreed to help the Jamaica's Financial Sector Adjustment Co. resolve or...

Online Asset Sales Pick Up Steam.(for loanable assets and funds)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... With loan defaults trending upward, lenders face the prospect of managing a growing inventory of real-estate owned. Increasingly, companies that sell troubled assets online are helping speed up the REO disposition process for some...

Lawyers Are Learning To Go Online with Default Billing Service.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... In a paper intensive industry, few aspects of the business demand as much labor-intensive paper shuffling as default management. But a young company here is working to change that. NewInvoice president Rich Rollins believes that both...

First American To Acquire LFC's Business.(LFC Nationwide)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... The First American Corporation has executed a letter of intent to acquire LFC Nationwide, a provider of property preservation and field inspection services. Details of the transaction, which was scheduled to close in March, were not...

First American Launches New Credit Report Correction Service.(First American Credco's RapidReCheck service)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... First American Credco, a subsidiary of the First American Corporation, has created a new service to update consumer credit files and correct credit record mistakes quickly at the bureau level, the company said. First American said the...

Litton Receives Top Ratings from Fitch.(Litton Loan Servicing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Litton Loan Servicing, the Houston-based subsidiary of C-BASS, has received Fitch's top ratings as a residential primary servicer for subprime and high loan-to-value ratio mortgages as well as for special servicing of troubled loans. ...

Mortgage Insurers Saw Higher Rates Of Default in 2000.(industry data)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Financially, most of the mortgage insurers had a good year in 2000, with the industry reporting strong profitability. But a rise in defaults, and a corresponding decrease in the ratio of "cures" to defaults, could be a source of concern....

Mortgage insurance cures and defaults.(industry statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 1, 2001... Yr. Cure Default Ratio 1990 237,408 219,983 105.9% 1991 232,598 223,442 104.1% 1992 229,647 207,352 110.8% 1993 212,944 200,776 106.1% 1994 251,182 249,292 100.8% 1995...

New Software Catapults Processing to Central Site.(from LOGS Financial Services, Inc.)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 1, 2001... LOGS Financial Services, Inc. (LFSI), here has released a "thin client" version of its software to help servicers manage default vendor relationships. By centralizing the computer applications at LFSI's server site, the new system reduces...

MSTD Teams Up With Heyman Lyons Group.(contract information)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... MSTD, which provides application service provider tools for the mortgage servicing and unsecured creditor industries, and a consulting company have teamed up to help lenders with default servicing, loss mitigation and claim filing with an...

S&P Affirms Radian's Ratings After Deal.(with Enhance Financial Services Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Standard & Poor's has affirmed its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Radian Guaranty Inc., Philadelphia, and its subsidiaries following the completion of the acquisition of Enhance Financial Services Group Inc. here. ...

Alltel Completes Year-End Business.(company production information)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Alltel said its Residential Lending Solutions division completed year-end 2000 processing of a record 15.3 million loans during New Year's weekend. Clients that license Alltel's Mortgage Servicing Package performed year-end processing for...

Originators Warned to Heed an Anti-Fraud Message.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... Industry-wide codes of ethics are little more than public relations window dressing unless they are adopted, monitored and enforced by individual companies, panelists agreed at the National Home Equity Mortgage Association convention here...

Correction.(Correction Notice)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... In the March edition of MSN, a story about Franklin Credit Management Corp. referred to the company as First Franklin in one instance. First Franklin is an unrelated company. MSN regrets the error. Copyright c 2001 Thomson Financial. All...

Servicing People.(includes information on various executive appointments)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2001... California Irvine- First Regional Capital Advisors LLC has announced the appointment of Betty Bishop Donellan Esq. to its commercial real estate finance practice group. Most recently, she represented lender clients in California and...