Mortgage Servicing News articles from August 2005

Mortgage Servicing News archives from August 2005

Mortgage Debt Still Growing Fast.
August 1, 2005... New York -- Single-family residential debt, a market that totaled less than $2 trillion in 1986, passed the $8 trillion mark last year, according to Fannie Mae. And economists at the secondary market giant expect the growth to continue to...

Irwin Advises Of Impairment.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Columbus, OH -- Noting a sharp drop in 10-year Treasury rates during the second quarter, Irwin Financial Corp. here said it expects to report net impairment of about $27 million against its mortgage servicing rights for the second quarter. ...

'Red Flags' Are Seen.(McDash Analytics notes reduction in outstanding mortgages)(improvement in delinquency rates)
August 1, 2005... Denver -- Sure, delinquency rates have been falling on a national level, but not everyone sees a picture of credit quality that is universally rosy. McDash Analytics here, a company that slices and dices large pools of loan level mortgage...

Delinquency Rate Falls Again.(Illustration)
August 1, 2005... Qtr Total 30-day 60-day SD 1st '05 4.31% 2.70% 0.74% 1.89% 4th '04 4.38% 2.77% 0.75% 2.07% 3rd '04 4.54% 2.90% 0.79% 2.02% 2nd '04 4.56% 2.92% 0.77% 2.03% ...

Overdues at 5-Year Low.
August 1, 2005... Washington -- Overall, home loan delinquency rates have fallen to the lowest level in half a decade, and they may be poised to go even lower, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. As of March 31, 4.31% of home loans were 30 days or...

Top Subservicers at 3/31/05.
August 1, 2005... (dollars in millions) (part 1 of 2) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Dovenmuehle Mortgage (E) Schaumburg, IL 2 Cenlar FSB Ewing, NJ 3 Wells Fargo Home...

VA Proposal Puts More Weight on Shoulders of Servicers.(Department of Veteran Affairs)(opinion of economists on the proposal)
August 1, 2005... Washington -- The Department of Veterans Affairs proposal to delegate workout and loss mitigation responsibilities to private servicers has run into a wall of criticism, not for the direction VA is taking, but for the way it would be...

WaMu Hires Citi Veteran to Lead Home Loan Unit.(David Schneider)
August 1, 2005... Seattle -- Washington Mutual has hired a CitiMortgage veteran to head its home loan unit. David Schneider, previously president and COO of St. Louis-based CitiMortgage, has been named president of Washington Mutual's home loan division...

Bubble Isn't All That Big.(National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association)(real estate values)(Column)
August 1, 2005... Many times in the pages of this newspaper, we've quoted "experts" expressing concern about the possibility of a bubble in real estate values that is liable to burst. Why, this editor has sometimes even weighed in among the worry mongers...

Survey: Consumers Seek Convenience and Options.
August 1, 2005... Mr. Flanigan is chief marketing officer for Fort Knox National Co., a firm that specializes in electronic and expedited payment solutions. The paper check may never be erased from the average American household. But it's far less popular...

Is an Inverted Yield Curve in the Cards?(fluctuation in interest rates in the coming years)
August 1, 2005... It's a rare phenomena when long-term interest rates exceed short-term rates. But at least one New York economist believes that scenario may be in the cards. John Herrmann, chief economist at Cantor Viewpoint, a unit of Cantor Fitzgerald,...

Editor's Note.
August 1, 2005... Paul Muolo is on vacation. His Mortgage Scene column will resume in the September edition of MSN. (c) 2005 Mortgage Servicing News and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.mortgageservicingnews.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

Higher Appreciation Sparks Change in Prepay Model.
August 1, 2005... Bear Stearns & Co. recently made temporary modifications to its prepayment projections based on structural changes in the mortgage industry that the company said have helped spur home price appreciation. In a recent Mortgage Products...

Fidelity Revises Financing Of Partial Spin-Off for Title.(Fidelity National Title Group Inc.)(Fidelity National Financial Inc.)
August 1, 2005... Jacksonville, FL -- To address concerns raised by the rating agencies, Fidelity National Financial has made some changes to the conditions previously announced for its partial spin-off of its title insurance business. The original plans...

MBA Survey Says Tech Spending Is Still Rising.(Mortgage Bankers Association)
August 1, 2005... Washington -- The Mortgage Bankers Association here released highlights from it 2005 Technology Study, which said technology spending between 2004 and 2005 was up 14% over the previous year, and technology budgets are expected to climb by...

Interest Only, Negative-Amortization Loans Not Seen as a 'Systemic Risk'.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... New York -- The payment shock risk posed by interest-only and negative-amortization loans is a concern, but the percentage of these loans in the overall market is too small to consider them a "systemic risk," a Bear Stearns researcher said in a...

FNF to Buy Service Link.(Fidelity National Financial Inc acquires Service Link LP)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Jacksonville, FL -- Fidelity National Financial Inc. here has agreed to acquire Service Link LP, a title insurance agency and provider of title and closing services to national lenders headquartered in Aliquippa, Pa. As part of the...

Jeanne Bader.(Cenlar Federal Savings Bank appoints Jeanne Bader)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Ms. Bader has been named senior vice president for loan servicing at Cenlar FSB, Ewing, N.J. Before joining Cenlar, she served as vice president and sales manager of the Home Loan Center at Washington Mutual Bank. Cenlar currently services...

Subprime Servicing Market Now Tops $1 Trillion.
August 1, 2005... Washington -- By the time June ends, the nation's consumers will owe lenders more than $1 trillion on their subprime mortgages, according to figures compiled by this newspaper. At the end of March, subprime receivables (servicing rights)...

Subprime Residential Debt Outstanding in the U.S.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... (Dollars in billions) Period All Res. Debt. B&C Debt B&C Debt, Ending Outstanding Outstanding % of Total 1Q '05 $7,817 $951 12.16% 1Q '04 $7,224 $692 9.60% ...

LoanCare Obtains Servicer Rating.
August 1, 2005... New York -- Fitch Ratings has assigned a primary residential servicer rating of "RPS3-" to LoanCare Servicing Center. Fitch credited the company's tenured management team and effective loan administration processes and procedures in its...

Some Markets Could Be at Risk of Home Price Declines.
August 1, 2005... Washington -- The housing market shows no signs of slowing down, but if demand weakens in certain areas of the country such as the upper Midwest where there are fewer jobs, or if there is a recession, the market will likely see some price...

...But Bubble Babble May Be All Talk.(housing market )
August 1, 2005... New York -- Everyone is talking about a "bubble" in house prices, but most economists who follow the housing finance industry see little evidence of a widespread problem with house prices. Sure, some hot markets may be vulnerable to a...

Shelby Still Wants Limit on GSE Portfolios.(Government Sponsored Enterprises)
August 1, 2005... Washington -- Senate Banking Committee chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., will push for a committee vote on a GSE reform bill that would grant the new regulator clear authority to reduce the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's mortgage...

Bank Economists Anticipate Higher Rates by Next Year.
August 1, 2005... Washington -- After two years of rapid economic growth, a group of bank economists predict that the pace of growth will slow and long-term interest rates will begin to edge upward. The American Bankers Association's economic advisory...

ARC Signs E-Recording Deal with Affiliated Computer Services.(American Release Corp.)
August 1, 2005... Pasadena, CA -- Rekon Technologies, a software provider of lien release and reconveyance processing software, said that its sister company, American Release Corp., has signed an agreement with Affiliated Computer Services to electronically...

Maine Enacts Escrow Rules.
August 1, 2005... Augusta, ME -- Gov. John Baldacci recently signed a House bill here, which applies to creditors, assignees or servicers that hold or control funds of a consumer in an escrow account for the payment of taxes or insurance premiums. According...

Leesport Bank Uses BSG Check Recovery Service.(BSG Financial)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Louisville, KY -- BSG Financial, a provider of services to the financial industry, said that Leesport Bank, Wyomissing, Pa., has successfully implemented its Re$ubmitIt electronic check recovery service. Leesport Bank is servicing its...

Ginnie Servicers Face New Delinquency Regulations.
August 1, 2005... Washington -- Federal banking regulators have changed the reporting requirements for delinquent loans in Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities, despite opposition from Ginnie issuers. In the June 30 Call Report that banks file with...

Subprime Lenders Taking a Bite From Ginnie Mae's Issuance Volume.
August 1, 2005... Washington -- The current year is shaping up to be one of the worse in five years for the Government National Mortgage Association's single-family program - and the agency well knows it. "It's undeniable that we're off quite a bit this...

MERS to Aid with AFN's Training Program For Servicers.(American Legal and Financial Network)(Mortgage Electronic Registration System)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... St. Louis -- The American Legal and Financial Network, also known as AFN, said that MERS will participate in its AFN OnSite training program. "Our mission is to help our industry partners resolve as many of the issues facing them as we...

MISMO and Institute Working on Standards.(Appraisal Institute and Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization to bring out real estate appraisal standards)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Washington -- MISMO is making inroads to standardize the appraisal sector. Property data standards are in the final stages of approval and MISMO has entered into an alliance with the Appraisal Institute that will hopefully result in one...

Fidelity Offers Comparables Tool.(Fidelity National Data Services)
August 1, 2005... Jacksonville, FL -- Fidelity National Data Services, which shares a parent company with the nation's largest loan servicing automation bureau, has launched its Comp Locator system, a search engine for finding comparable home sales for...

NAR Worried About IO Loans, Payment Option ARMs.(National Association of Realtors)(Adjustable Rate Mortgages)
August 1, 2005... Washington -- The National Association of Realtors is concerned about the growing use of interest-only and payment-option ARMs and is planning a consumer outreach effort for later this summer. NAR made the decision last week to move ahead...

Moody's Affirms SN Servicing Corp.(Moody's Investor Service)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... New York -- Moody's Investors Service has affirmed SN Servicing's servicer quality rating of "SQ2" as a primary servicer of subprime loans and "SQ3" as a special servcier of residential mortgage loans. SN is a wholly owned subsidiary of...

Study Finds No Bias in Prepayment Penalties.
August 1, 2005... Washington -- A study for the National Home Equity Mortgage Association states that the interest rate a borrower pays on his or her mortgage loan is directly related to his or her credit risk profile. A second study said putting a...

'Retail' Strength Aids Cross-Sales.
August 1, 2005... New York -- Retail banking skills will increasingly determine the success of regional banks in the years ahead, according to analysts at Merrill Lynch. Retail banking will be key to spread-based revenue growth, cross-sales and fee-revenue...

Zacks Highlights Mortgage Stocks.(Zacks growth and income profit track)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Chicago -- Zacks growth and income profit track, a strategy that looks for companies with unusually high-dividend yields, points to several mortgage and real estate stocks as strong picks for investors, the company said. Zacks describes...

Commercial Servicing.(commercial real estate mortgage industry analysis, trends and forecasts)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... Sure, the residential side of the mortgage business has grown quickly in recent years. But don't forget about the commercial real estate side of the business. Commercial and multifamily real estate debt outstanding now totals $2.4 billion and...

Terrorism Insurance Law Faces Opposition From Bush.(George W. Bush)
August 1, 2005... Washington -- The Bush administration is calling for a scaled-backed extension of a federal terrorism insurance program that is due to expire at the end of this year. In a letter to Congress, Treasury secretary John Snow said the...

Commercial Real Estate Debt Continues to Increase.
August 1, 2005... Washington -- The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding continued to grow in the first quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's analysis of Federal Reserve Board flow of funds data. At the end of the...

Countrywide Selects Global Tax Software.
August 1, 2005... Salem, MA -- Taxware, a First Data Corp. subsidiary, has been selected to provide global transaction tax calculation and reporting software for Countrywide Financial Corp. The implementation is scheduled to be completed soon. Since...

REIT Debt Is Outperforming other Market Segments.(real estate investment trusts)
August 1, 2005... The market for real estate investment trust unsecured debt has grown tremendously since the 1970s, when it was "nonexistent," and REIT debt is now among the top performers, according to Thierry Perrein, director, global high-grade credit...

Performance of Home Equity Securities Reaches Milestone.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2005... New York -- The serious delinquency rate on home-equity loans pooled into securities has fallen to its lowest level in eight years, according to Moody's Investors Service. Moody's said that in March of this year, 5.19% of securitized home...

Servicing People.(First American Title Insurance Co.)(Mortgage Bankers Association)(HanoverTrade Inc.)(appointments)
August 1, 2005... CALIFORNIA Santa Ana-First American Title Insurance Co. said that Jessica S. Verduzco has joined the company as emerging markets director for the state of Texas. Prior to joining First American, Ms. Verduzco spent a year as a...