Mortgage Servicing News articles from August 2007

Mortgage Servicing News archives from August 2007

Centerbridge Will Buy Green Tree.
August 1, 2007... ST. PAUL, MN -- Green Tree Servicing, the nation's largest manager of manufactured housing loans, will be acquired by one private equity firm from another in a deal reached last month. An investor group led by Centerbridge Partners, along...

Delinquency Rates For Subprime, FHA And More.(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Loan Total Past Dues Total Pas Dues Total Past Dues Type Dec. 31, '06 Dec. 31, '05 Dec. 31, '04 FHA(1) 14.43% 14.22% 13.17% Subprime(2) 14.35% 15.89% 9.84% VA ...

New Foreclosures Reach Record.
August 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The rate of loans entering the foreclosure process in the first quarter of 2007 set a record at 0.58% on a seasonally adjusted basis and delinquencies are up for the year, but 24 states actually saw a decline in foreclosure starts...

Collateral Passes $10B.
August 1, 2007... BIRMINGHAM, AL -- Collateral Real Estate Capital's commercial and multifamily loan servicing portfolio topped $10 billion recently, and the company expects to see growth continue. That represents annual portfolio growth of more than 20%...

Servicing Costs Rise.
August 1, 2007... DALLAS -- Servicing nontraditional products has become more of a challenge as potential default and foreclosure servicing costs keep going up. "It is safe to say servicing costs are going up," said Ray Morris, vice president of sales and...

Bank Regulator Highlights Foreclosure Prevention Practices.
August 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- If you want to help troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure, contact them early and be their friend, a bank regulatory agency is advising. Noting that nearly $500 billion to $800 billion of adjustable-rate mortgages will reset...

Alt-A Deteriorates, Jumbos Are Mixed.
August 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Analysts at Standard & Poor's say that the performance of alt-A quality mortgages originated in 2006 continues to deteriorate. At the same time, they said that the performance of jumbo loans has been mixed, with delinquencies...

Comptroller Rebukes Non-Bank Lenders on Foreclosures Practices.
August 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Comptroller John Dugan is challenging non-bank lenders and servicers to step up their efforts to help delinquent subprime borrowers and prevent foreclosures. The top supervisor of national banks noted that banks have been...

Editorial: More Default Woes.(Editorial)
August 1, 2007... Say what you will about the economy, but the mortgage industry still has a ways to go before working through the current increase in loan delinquencies and defaults, which is especially pronounced on the subprime end of the credit spectrum. ...

Point of View: Apples to Apples: With Billions at Stake.
August 1, 2007... Mr. Showalter is the senior director of product management at LoanPerformance. This is the first of two parts. In the not too distant past, the selection of a mortgage servicer was a routine, mundane event. Portfolio delinquency rates were...

Servicers Could be Forced to Repurchase Loans.
August 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- In providing relief for subprime borrowers, servicers and trustees of mortgage-backed securities also have to deal with accounting rules that govern permissible activities in managing mortgage trusts or "qualified special purpose...

Atlantic Coast Restates Results.(Atlantic Coast Federal Corp.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... WAYCROSS, GA -- Atlantic Coast Federal Corp. here, the holding company for Atlantic Coast Bank, will restate its historical financial statements for the years ended Dec. 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, and for the individual quarter ended March 31,...

Peak Housing Sales Season Pushes Up Prepayment Speeds.
August 1, 2007... Analysts were predicting an increase in May prepayment rates for 30-year mortgages in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities, citing a higher number of business days and seasonal housing turnover. In the Mortgage Strategist,...

Lenders Eager for FICO to Squash Piggyback Play on Scores.
August 1, 2007... Washington-Some have voiced concern that Fair Isaac's lengthy timeframe for updating its models for each of the three credit repositories - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - has the potential to create a credit-scoring "Tower of Babel" as Fair...

Impac Drops '07 Earnings Guidance.(Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... IRVINE, CA -- Impac Mortgage Holdings here, a mortgage REIT, said it will not pay a dividend in the second quarter as the company struggles to cope with higher-than-expected losses on real estate-owned. The company had previously planned to...

Commercial Sector Remains Strong Despite Housing Woes.
August 1, 2007... Midway through 2007, commercial real estate markets are going strong, aided by an economy that has weathered the housing slowdown well so far and generated a fair amount of job creation. And in spite of reduced levels of home equity to draw on,...

Roundup: Walter Mortgage Added to S&P Select Servicer List.
August 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Walter Mortgage Co., an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Walter Industries, has been added to Standard & Poor's Select Servicer List. The Tampa, Fla.-based company noted that S&P adds firms to its servicer list only after a...

Accredited Affirmed.
August 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Moody's Investors Service has affirmed its "SQ3+" rating for Accredited Home Lenders. The affirmation came in light of the news that Accredited's parent, Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., is being bought by Lone Star Funds,...

Fitch Affirms NCB.(Services of Fitch Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the commercial mortgage-backed securities servicer rating of National Cooperative Bank. Fitch gives NCB a "CPS1-" primary servicer rating and "CMS2-" master servicer rating. Fitch also affirmed the...

Fitch Affirms Emigrant Ratings.(Emigrant Bancorp.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the long-term and short-term issuer default ratings for Emigrant Bancorp and its subsidiaries at "BBB+" and "F2," respectively. The outlook remains stable. The rating agency said the ratings reflect...

Fitch Affirms HLS's Rating.
August 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the residential priary servicer ratings of Home Loan Services for alt-A and subprime products at "RPS2." Fitch also affirmed HLS' residential special servicer rating at "RSS2-." (c) 2007 Mortgage...

Interest Rate Risk Comes on the Radar Screen Again.
August 1, 2007... As mortgage lenders started reporting second-quarter results last month, most were poised to see positive servicing results as long as they didn't overhedge their asset. Long-term interest rates ended the quarter a tad higher than they were at...

Litton Recognized by USFN.(achievement of Larry Litton)(United States Foreclosure Network)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... HOUSTON -- Larry Litton Sr., president and founder of Litton Loan Servicing, has been honored with the USFN's Distinguished Service Award. The award was presented during USFN's national servicing seminar and technology forum in early June....

Report: Housing Crisis Remains Long-Term Challenge.
August 1, 2007... CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Research shows expected slow turnaround and continued U.S. housing market weakness should not have a detrimental impact on its overall long-term growth potential. Housing affordability, however, remains the chip-on-the-shoulder...

Fed Chief Says Subprime Hangover Isn't Over Yet.(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the worst is not over in the subprime sector and further reductions in subprime originations should be expected along with higher foreclosure rates. "Decelerating house...

Hedge Funds Teeter On Weak B&C Market.
August 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Bear Stearns here as of June 27 had reduced by half a $3.2 billion line of credit to one of its two subprime-related hedge funds, citing assets sales from the fund known as the High-Grade Structured Credit Fund. But even as...

Lenders Searching for Ways to Reach Delinquent Borrowers.
August 1, 2007... DALLAS -- Everyone knows that when borrowers stop making payments, they often stop returning phone calls from their home loan servicer as well. Speakers at the SourceMedia Mortgage Servicing Conference keynote panel here said that their...

Servicers Find Less Customer Contact Is Better.
August 1, 2007... DALLAS -- J.D. Power and Associates found in its 2006 survey that consumers who have less contact with their mortgage servicing company are generally more satisfied with the company's performance than consumers who initiate a lot of contact....

Roundtable: Time To Prepare?
August 1, 2007... David Van Ess, EVP, LOGS Network Mary Hunter, president & CEO, Artemis Enterprises Joe Dombrowski, Fiserv, executive consultant Jeremy Pomerantz, SVP, Nationwide Title Clearing Joe Lanzillotta, VP, DST Output These...

Experts Say REO Can Be an Affordable Housing Resource.
August 1, 2007... SAN DIEGO -- Some housing experts are trying to make the best out of a bad situation using rising foreclosures due to a weaker housing market to generate affordable housing opportunities for first-time low-income minority buyers. The new...

Lehman Supports Foreclosure Prevention.
August 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Lehman Brothers has contributed $1.25 million to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition to support the coalition's foreclosure prevention fund and homeownership initiatives, which includes going after lenders with...

California and Florida Top Metro Depreciation Risk Ranking.
August 1, 2007... Walnut Creek, CA-In the country's largest metropolitan areas there is a 34.6% chance "that prices will be lower in two years," with Florida and California being higher risk, according to the Summer 2007 U.S. Market Risk Index released by PMI...

Mixed Bag News When Tracking Foreclosures in the Midwest: Only California and Florida have surpassed Illinois in numbers of pre-foreclosures year-to-date.
August 1, 2007... Nationally, the persistent rise in defaults on subprime loans continues to fuel the surge in foreclosures. The foreclosure numbers news from the Midwest have recently been a mixed bag. Pre-foreclosure filings for the region, which includes...

Commercial Home-Equity Delinquencies Rise Sharply.
August 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The delinquency rate on home-equity loans held by commercial banks increased sharply in the first quarter despite a decline in credit card overdue rates, according to the American Bankers Association. While credit card...

Indianapolis to Host Foreclosure Summit.
August 1, 2007... INDIANAPOLIS -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Networks Financial Institute at Indiana State University are convening a "Solving the Foreclosure Crisis" conference here in August. The financial forum is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug....

Fitch: Mortgage Insurance Exposure to Credit Risk Grows.
August 1, 2007... While the market has worried about the performance of subprime loans originated in 2006, analysts at Fitch Ratings say the concerns may extend to earlier origination vintages as well. And that will put continued pressure on the mortgage...

Most Americans Think FHA Can Help Solve Subprime Woes.
August 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Alphonso Jackson quoted new survey findings to emphasize "the urgent need for Congress to pass legislation that modernizes the FHA to help both promote and protect...

Mortgage Lender Takes Proactive Approach to Buyback Risk: 'This tool rates the risk of the borrower on a scale of one to four.'.
August 1, 2007... IRVINE, CA -- Given the issues around loan quality and the spate of buybacks lenders are facing, Impac Mortgage Holdings has decided to be proactive about the situation by rolling out risk mitigation technology to its correspondents. ...

RealEC Passes 31 Million Mark: 'These milestones are important ones for RealEC and further reinforce its market leadership.'.
August 1, 2007... SANTA ANA, CA -- RealEC Technologies Inc. here said that its B2B exchange recently surpassed 31 million orders processed since its launch in 1998. The company also said it has surpassed 2,000 participating lenders, including 17 of the top 20....

New Product Helps Mortgage Investors Manage Risk.
August 1, 2007... PORTLAND, ME -- Offering a real-time tool to deal with a volatile market, analytics software vendor Quantrix here will provide a modeling interface for risk-analytics firm Andrew Davidson and Co. The partnership between Quantrix and ADCo will...

Two Firms Team To Fight Fraud.
August 1, 2007... BETHLEHEM, PA -- Edentify Inc., a provider of identity management and fraud detection solutions, is partnering with eDominate Inc., a provider of buying-cycle management software for financial institutions. Edentify's IDScreenT identity...

Title Issues.(services and management of mortgage banks)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Call it what you want, the last thing a servicer has to do in the loan administration process can be a headache. Conveying title back to the homeowner free and clear, or assigning the lien away to another lender or the homeowner, takes time and...

Peelle and Nationwide Title Form Alliance.
August 1, 2007... PALM HARBOR, FL -- Nationwide Title Clearing is teaming up with Peelle Technologies following the closure of Peelle Management Corp., NTC said last month. The decision to close Peelle Management was made recently after the death of the...

U.S. Recordings Achieves Milestone In Home State With Level II Activity: 'The process was seamless and efficient and we hope that electronic recording will continue.'.
August 1, 2007... ST. PAUL, MN -- U.S. Recordings made the successful electronic recording of a "Level II" mortgage document, the first of its kind in Minnesota. Another successful Level II electronic recording of a mortgage, Minnesota's second, occurred in...

ALTA Plans Habitat Home In Chicago.(American Land Title Association)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The American Land Title Association will partner with the Windy City Habitat for Humanity Chapter and sponsor a home within the city of Chicago to help celebrate the title trade group's 100th Anniversary. Attendees at the...

Minnesota Enacts New Property Legislation.(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... SAINT PAUL, MN -- In other state legal news, Minnesota lawmakers have enacted legislation effective Aug. 1, which among other things increases the homestead exemption from $200,000 to $300,000. If the land is used primarily for agricultural...

Title Insurance market share data (1st quarter 2007).
August 1, 2007... Premium Premium Written Premium Written Total Company Name Written Direct Non-Affiliated Agency Affiliated Agency Premiums Written Market Share Other Income Total Revenue Total - FIRST AMERICAN FAMILY 223,036,897...

Fidelity National Title Offers New Program to Curb Fraud: 'We recognize that mortgage fraud and identity theft are a growing concern.'.
August 1, 2007... JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Through a partnership with a subsidiary of Experian, Fidelity National Title Group here, a provider of title insurance, specialty insurance and claims management services, has launched a new product offering to help its...

Servicing People.
August 1, 2007... ALABAMA Birmingham-Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz has added Joan M. Budd to its real estate department. Ms. Budd joins the firm as shareholder and will practice from its Birmingham office. Prior to joining Baker...