Mortgage Servicing News articles from August 2008

Mortgage Servicing News archives from August 2008

Countrywide Exits the Stage.
August 1, 2008... Washington -- Angelo Mozilo - co-founder, chairman and CEO of Countrywide Home Loans, once a powerhouse in mortgage banking and the world's largest mortgage servicer - is leaving the playing field. Last month, ending an era, Mr. Mozilo...

OTS Sees More Prime Defaults.
August 1, 2008... Washington -- New data released by the Office of Thrift Supervision show that the rise in new foreclosures during the first quarter was driven mainly by prime and alt-A loans, not subprime loans. Yet mortgage servicers are more likely to...

That Sinking Feeling.
August 1, 2008... Washington -- Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, estimates that nine million U.S. homeowners currently owe more mortgage debt than their home is currently worth, and he thinks a lot of them will sink into default on their...

Loan Mods Decline.
August 1, 2008... Washington -- Hope Now servicers helped nearly 170,000 at-risk borrowers stay in their homes in May, but they could not keep up with the record pace of workouts in April when they negotiated 185,000 loan modifications and repayment plans. ...

Lone Star Buys CIT's Servicing.
August 1, 2008... New York -- Lone Star Funds - which already owns one of the nation's largest surviving subprime firms - has agreed to buy the nonprime lending division of CIT Group, including its servicing platform. Lone Star will pay $1.5 billion in cash...

Securitization Industry Backs Modification Plan.
August 1, 2008... New York -- During a meeting of the ASF's board of directors here, the organization said its members have devoted time and effort to tackle loss mitigation and foreclosure prevention initiatives as it relates to securitization. Tom...

S&P: Mortgage Woes Hurting Bond Insurers.
August 1, 2008... New York -- Standard & Poor's Rating Services has lowered its financial strength ratings on Ambac Assurance Corp. and MBIA Insurance Corp. to AA from AAA, and placed them on CreditWatch with negative implications. S&P also lowered the ratings...

HELOC Performance Falters in First Quarter.
August 1, 2008... Washington -- In the first quarter, the percentage of bank home-equity lines of credit that were more than 30 days past due rose 14 basis points to 1.1%, the highest level in nearly a decade, according to the American Bankers Association's...

Servicers Agree to Streamline Foreclosure Relief Practices.
August 1, 2008... Washington -- Mortgage servicers who participate in the Hope Now Alliance have agreed to adopt a streamlined approach to foreclosure prevention that advocates say will expedite help for troubled homeowners at risk of losing their homes. In...

What Can the FHA Do?
August 1, 2008... Legislation that seems likely to be enacted soon (a version recently was approved by the U.S. Senate by an 83-9 vote) will make it easier for borrowers with subprime, adjustable-rate loans to refinance into fixed-rate, government-backed...

Title and Document Challenges.
August 1, 2008... Ms. Lindsey is vice president of national sales at Stewart Lender Services. She has nearly 25 years of national sales and management experience within the mortgage banking industry. Outstanding documents...document exceptions...missing...

Bank of America Swallows CFC.
August 1, 2008... Bank of America's Barbara Desoer has quite a task in front of her. She is now the top executive in charge of the combined mortgage operations of CFC/BoA, which together service $2 trillion in loans. That translates into a residential market...

Lehman's Loss Grows; Firm to Raise Capital.
August 1, 2008... New York -- Lehman Brothers faced fresh criticism about its exposure to mortgage-related losses when the company posted a huge first-quarter loss and said it would seek to raise additional capital. The company, which lost $2.8 billion in...

May Prepay Trend Surprises Analysts.
August 1, 2008... Overall prepayment rates for mortgage-backed securities dropped 18.0% in May from a constant prepayment rate of 15.9 CPR to 13.1 CPR, defying analysts' expectations, according to Credit Suisse. Writing in the "May 2008 Fixed Rate Prepayment...

FINRA: Housing Woe Puts Wealth at Risk.
August 1, 2008... Washington, DC -- Some experts are warning that the mortgage crisis and a weaker economy are bringing about another crisis of increased risk to personal wealth and the long-term financial health of individual investors. Asset risk...

Is Accounting Part of the Problem?
August 1, 2008... We all know that one of the headaches of hedging interest rate risk for an asset such as mortgage servicing rights is figuring out the accounting ramifications. Fortunately for servicers, the rules have been simplified in recent years. But many...

Growth of CRE Debt Slows in 1Q.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Washington -- The level of commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding grew by 1.8% in the first quarter to $3.4 trillion, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The $3.4 trillion was an increase of $60.8 billion from the...

One Centralized Approach To REO Title Issues.
August 1, 2008... Instead of working with thousands of state and county offices, foreclosure departments have seen higher efficiency in working with one office who knows their client's needs for the whole nation, thus allowing for better service and a sense of...

Now, Foreclosed Pets Are Being Rescued as Well.
August 1, 2008... Houston -- The mortgage and foreclosure crises have spread far and wide, nationally and internationally. Now a new rescue effort includes help for pets abandoned by distressed homeowners. A mortgage industry veteran is bringing together all...

Bad Loans Rise Fast at Banks & Thrifts.
August 1, 2008... Washington -- Banks and thrifts posted $19.3 billion in earnings for the first quarter, down 46% from a year ago, as rising levels of troubled real estate loans forced the depositories to set aside $18.5 billion for expected loan losses, the...

Merrill Lynch: Banks Reach 'Uncharted Territory'.
August 1, 2008... New York -- Economists at Merrill Lynch, reacting to news that home loan delinquencies and foreclosures reached record highs in the first quarter, say that the banking industry is far from finished with bad-debt write-offs. Economists...

MI Firms Confront More Risk Woes.
August 1, 2008... New York -- Last year, Fitch Ratings here declared, "Will likely prove to be one of the worst underwriting years in the modern history of the U.S. mortgage industry." The company made the statement in a report where it downgraded the insurer...

Foreclosures Loom Large over Housing Market.
August 1, 2008... Washington -- Nearly one-third of existing home sales in May involved foreclosure and short sales. Furthermore, this development is putting downward pressure on housing prices and propping up sales, according to the National Association of...

Index Provides Better Picture of Collateral Value.
August 1, 2008... Denver -- Integrated Asset Services LLC joined the ranks of home price index producers recently, saying it provides "more granular data" that demonstrate "pockets of opportunity" for nonperforming loan buyers. While "on a national level,...

Financial Resolve Turns in New Buyers.
August 1, 2008... Every January most people think of a New Year's resolution. Spring approaches and body fat review season begins. According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, Silver Spring, Md., however, June, otherwise known as national...

New Ranking on Satisfaction for Collection Firms.
August 1, 2008... Rockville, MD -- Collectors may not be very popular right now, but they are in demand and willing to offer quality service to both clients and their own staff. In an effort to help collectors "see how they rank in employee satisfaction and...

ACORN Rates Attorneys General Reaction to Crisis.
August 1, 2008... New Orleans -- In a new report from ACORN, six attorneys general have stood out for their aggressive response and creative leadership to the nation's growing foreclosure crisis. The AGs, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Martha Coakley of...

Thornburg Reports $3.3 Billion First Quarter Loss.(Financial report)
August 1, 2008... Santa Fe, NM -- Thornburg Mortgage here, reeling from mark-to-market and impairment charges, reported a $3.3 billion first-quarter loss. But CEO Larry Goldstone said much of the loss reflects a number of "nonrecurring and accounting...

MIAC Will License Fiserv Technology.
August 1, 2008... New York -- MIAC Analytics, a provider of mortgage pricing and risk management systems, has obtained an exclusive license to distribute and support the DecisionServ product from IPS-Sendero, a business unit of Fiserv. "We are extremely...

Title Issues.
August 1, 2008... Assignments, reconveyances and title issues are a constant challenge for mortgage servicers. They must check to make sure title and lien records are accurate, make changes on a timely basis when loans change hands or pay off, and be mindful of...

NY Loophole Saves Borrowers Money on Refis.
August 1, 2008... New York -- In New York State, there is an alternative method that allows consumers to save money on their mortgage tax and title charges when they refinance their loans. According to Scott Kapchan of International Title Agency here, this...

Fidelity Reduces Sedgwick Stake.
August 1, 2008... Jacksonville, FL -- Fidelity National Financial Inc. here has sold 20% of its stake in Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. to UnitedHealth Group. "This sale of a portion of our stake in Sedgwick CMS is consistent with our stated goal...

NTC's ExpressRetrieval.com Expands Title Access.(Nationwide Title Clearing)
August 1, 2008... Palm Harbor, FL -- Nationwide Title Clearing has launched ExpressRetrieval.com, an online service that allows mortgage industry professionals to place orders for vital research and retrieval of recorded real estate documents nationwide. ...

Regulators Are Wary of Proposed RESPA Rule.
August 1, 2008... Washington -- It is bad enough getting sandbagged by industry groups, but now the Department of Housing and Urban Development is being pressed by fellow regulatory agencies to reconsider its Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act proposal. ...

Best Is Bearish on Title.
August 1, 2008... Oldwick, NJ -- A.M. Best Co. here has revised its outlook on Old Republic Title Insurance Co. from stable to negative because of uncertainties related to the parent company's mortgage guaranty business as a result of the downturn in the housing...

October Research Founder Dies.(Obituary)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Richfield, OH -- October Research Corp. is saddened to announce the death of its founder and publisher, Joseph R. Casa. The company said he died on June 28 in the comfort of his home, surrounded by his family. Mr. Casa's career spanned over...

Servicing People.
August 1, 2008... CALIFORNIA Irvine-Thompson National Properties said that Greg Genovese has joined the company as president of the securities division. Previously, Mr. Genovese was responsible for raising capital for REIT LLC and 1031 TIC offerings as...

AEI Sees No Collapse Imminent for Housing.
August 1, 2008... Washington -- Despite a record number of foreclosures, housing price declines have been small and will remain so, according to a new paper released here last week by the American Enterprise Institute. Cushioned by such other "fundamental...