Mortgage Servicing News articles from February 2002

Mortgage Servicing News archives from February 2002

Who Is Left for WaMu to Buy?
February 1, 2002... The ink still dry on its purchase of Dime Bancorp, Washington Mutual has vowed to continue its "buy-and-build strategy," but now the question becomes: Who's next? Over the past year, rumors have circulated that WaMu has talked to...

WaMu Servicing: 3/4ths of $1 trillion.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... (Dollars in Millions) Serv. Mkt. Company at 9/30/01 Share Washington Mutual $ 483,953 8.96 % HomeSide (1) (ss) $ 187,367 3.47 % Dime/NAMC ...

Fairbanks Gets Vote Of Confidence.
February 1, 2002... In what may signal a growing interest among mortgage insurers in gaining hands-on loan management expertise, the PMI Group has doubled its ownership stake in Fairbanks Capital Holding Corp., a specialist in servicing nonperforming and...

Nettlesome CA Rule Repealed.
February 1, 2002... The California state legislature, rarely a friend to mortgage lenders, has offered relief from a controversial court decision that exposed servicers to substantial litigation risk relating to loan payoffs. The legislation will undo the...

Option One Poised to Grow.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Subprime giant Option One here is looking for a servicing chief to run its fast growing base of receivables, but also someone who can lead the firm into new frontiers. "We're looking for a person to manage the entire servicing operation,...

Top Subservicers at Sept. 30, 2001.(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name 1 CitiFinancial/Associates, Baltimore, MD 2 Household Financial Services, Prospect Hts., IL 3 BankAmerica/CFG Real Est. (1), Jacksonville, FL 4 Ocwen...

VA May Privatize REO Management.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Department of Veteran Affairs is getting ready to announce a decision on whether it will privatize the management and sales of foreclosed single-family homes or to keep the operation in-house. The VA loan guaranty program generates...

MN Sues Countrywide Over Appraisals.(Minnesota Department of Commerce, Countrywide Home Loans Inc., Countrywide Home Loans Servicing L.P.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Countrywide Home Loans Inc. and Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP are being sued by the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Minnesota attorney general's office. The complaint alleges that they "falsely told homeowners that they...

Paul Sarbanes.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D., Md., has initiated congressional hearings into the legality of paying yield-spread premiums, sometimes called servicing-release fees. During a recent congressional hearing, Sen. Sarbanes said that yield-spread premiums...

Legal Trade Group Seeks New Director.
February 1, 2002... USFN, America's Mortgage Banking Attorneys, is seeking a new executive director. The USFN board announced on the group's website recently that long-time executive director Dave Nielson will be leaving the group in February to head the...

MSN/SPECIAL REPORT: Subservicing.
February 1, 2002... Loan administration requires a lot of heavy lifting, and more and more lenders are choosing to outsource all or part of the servicing business. Learn how subservicers can help you manage your portfolio. Page 25 Copyright c 2002 Thomson...

Ocwen Sees Improvement in Pre-Foreclosure Resolution.(Ocwen Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Ocwen Financial Corp., a specialist in managing nonperforming mortgage loans, improved its ability to resolve problem loans last year even as it doubled the size of its portfolio. Company chairman and CEO William Erbey told MSN that the...

Navy Federal Tops $10 Billion.(Navy Federal Credit Union)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Navy Federal Credit Union services over $10 billion in first mortgage loans, and late last year the company projected that its total would surpass $10.3 billion by the end of 2001. The nation's largest credit union also services $1.5...

Are Credit Costs Rising?(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... At least a few lenders reacted with chagrin when Freddie Mac announced a "floor" in its guarantee fee near the end of last year. Whether or not Freddie Mac's move means that the costs of credit enhancement are going to rise is uncertain, but a...

Fannie and Freddie Still Have Room to Grow.(Federal National Mortgage Association)(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Mr. Gray, senior research analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., New York, spoke at an America's Community Bankers meeting in New York recently. This viewpoint is an excerpt of his remarks to the thrift and bank executives, in which he advised...

Mortgage Scene: After all the Big Deals, How Large Can WaMu Get?(Washington Mutual Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... At year-end, Washington Mutual had $15.2 billion in residential servicing rights on its books and ranked 33rd among all mortgage bankers in the nation. Of course, "year-end" in this case was year-end 1995. In six short years, WaMu has...

Loan Sales and Servicing Transfers Can Damage Customer Satisfaction.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Selling a loan to another mortgage lender has a negative effect on customer loyalty, the inaugural J.D. Power and Associates Home Mortgage Study found. The survey found that 40% of mortgage customers are being serviced by someone other...

Snapshot.
February 1, 2002... Customers whose loan was sold who say they would use their current servicer again: 20% Customers whose loan is serviced by their originator who say they would use the lender again: 37% Source: J.D.Power & Associates Copyright c...

Credit Counselor: New Year Could Be Expensive for Managers of Problem Loans.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... With the mortgage industry consolidating, the start of an economic recession, high unemployment and increasing borrower default, the year is not off to a good start for servicers. The near future looks like it will be an expensive time,...

Countrywide Sale Rumors Might Be Premature.(Countrywide Credit Industries)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Early in the new year, rumors were flying anew that Countrywide Credit Industries here is either for sale or might be looking for a strategic partner, preferably a foreign bank. Analyst Richard Eckert of Wedbush Morgan, Los Angeles, told...

National Tax Data Available Online.(First American Real Estate Tax Service Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... First American Real Estate Tax Service announced that it now allows Internet access to more than 22,000 taxing authorities for detailed tax data nationwide. First American's Property Locator Service, which encompasses information about...

Risk-Based Pricing is Adding A Wrinkle to Prepay Analysis.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... With the advent of risk-based pricing, investors in mortgage-backed securities have a new factor to consider when estimating prepayment risk. That's the message that Anand Bhattacharya, executive vice president of Countrywide Securities...

Speed Watch: Seasoned Loans Continue to Prepay at High Speeds.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Seasoned issues were the stars of the prepayment show during the December reporting period for agency mortgage- backed securities. Speeds increased significantly among seasoned issues for both conventional MBS and Ginnie Maes, while speeds...

'Deflation' Could Threaten Mortgage Portfolios.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Now that interest rates have edged up and prepayments have slowed, hedging managers can finally take it easy, right? Not so fast, industry experts warn us. And if Les Parker of Parker & Associates, Broad Run, Va., is correct, hedging...

MIAC Adds Pipeline Management Expertise.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... MIAC, formally the Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp., has long been prominent as a hedging advisory firm for major mortgage servicers. Last year, the company has just hired a key executive to help lead its expansion into the pipeline risk...

Wilshire Repurchases $10 Million of Stock.(Wilshire Financial Services Group)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Wilshire Financial Services Group, parent of a specialty servicer that focuses on "scratch and dent" loans, has announced the repurchase of about $10 million of its common stock. The repurchase involved 4,168,854 shares of common stock at...

Commercial Servicer: Terrorism Coverage Looms Over Commercial Real Estate Lenders.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Starting off the year, it looks like insurance issues are going to be a great concern for servicers going forward. With a bill that would have provided a federal backstop for terrorism-related insurance coverage being held up in Congress and...

CA Delinquencies Remain Modest.(California Mortgage Bankers Association survey)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... While servicers across the country are worried about delinquencies in the current economic climate, California has reported a delinquency ratio of merely 0.07% as of September 30th , according to a quarterly delinquency survey conducted by the...

Top commercial servicers at 9/31/01.(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)(Directory)
February 1, 2002... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Company Location 1 GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. Horsham, PA 2 Midland Loan Services (E) Kansas City. MO 3 First...

Special Servicing Expertise is Key to Criimi Mae's Plan.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Since emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, Criimi Mae has taken some steps to strengthen the company's position. The company has recently changed its strategy for its mortgage servicing subsidiary, Criimi Mae Services, deciding...

New York City, Washington Continue to Attract Foreign Realty Investors.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Next year, foreign investors are planning to increase their U.S. commercial real estate investment activity while decreasing investments in other countries worldwide, according to a survey conducted by the Association of Foreign Investors in...

Capstone Wins Master Servicing Assignment.(Capstone Realty Advisors)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Capstone Realty Advisors, a commercial real estate finance and investment firm, has won master servicing rights on a $1.43 billion commercial mortgage-backed securities deal. The deal consists of 173 loans from First Union and Bank of...

Roundup: Pacific Life Gets An Upgrade.(Fitch upgrades Pacific Life Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... International rating agency Fitch has upgraded Pacific Life Insurance Co.'s primary servicer rating to 'CPS1-minus' from 'CPS2' and affirmed Pacific Life's special servicer rating of 'CSS2' for commercial mortgage loans, saying the company is...

Snapshot: Other Recent Commercial Rating Actions.(Standard & Poor's)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... * ARCap REIT received an average ranking from Standard & Poor's as a commercial mortgage special servicer. The outlook is positive, S&P said. * Criimi Mae Services' average ranking as a commercial loan servicer and commercial master...

Radian Gets Backing from Rating Agency for Alternative Title Product.(Radian Guaranty, Standard and Poor's)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Radian Guaranty may be at odds with the title insurance industry over the legality of its alternative pool insurance product, but the mortgage insurer is getting the backing of rating agency Standard & Poor's. S&P will begin accepting a...

MBS Prepays May Slow This Year.(mortgage-backed securities, 2002)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Mortgage-backed securities issuance and prepayments may begin to slow this year if expectations that the economy will eventually recover in 2002 pan out and continue to elevate the long-term rates driving the bulk of the mortgage market. ...

Wells Fargo Hits Home Equity Goal.(Wells Fargo Bank)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... While some banks are getting out of the home equity lending business, others think now is the time to grow that business. Wells Fargo Bank is still counting the numbers, but it thinks it may have reached its vaunted goal of amassing $25...

FDIC to Sell Alliance Receivables.(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Alliance Funding)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is on the verge of picking winning bidders to purchase the subprime receivables of Alliance Funding here, a subprime wholesaler controlled by the government. However, as Mortgage Servicing News went to...

Ratings Roundup: Homecomings Financial Get Upgraded by Fitch.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Homecomings Financial, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Residential Funding Corp., has received top servicing designations from international rating agency Fitch. Homecomings was upgraded to RPS1 as a residential servicer of subprime loans and...

SubServicing Special Report.(mortgages)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... These days, lenders expect a lot from a subservicer. They still own the loan, so they have a stake in how well the borrower is treated, especially since the subservicer often acts in the lender's own name. It's a bit like the trucking...

Essex Becomes LoanCare Servicing.(Essex Home Mortgage Servicing Corp., LoanCare Servicing Center)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Essex Home Mortgage Servicing Corp., a subservicer based here, has changed its name to LoanCare Servicing Center. Greg Harney, vice president of marketing and sales, said the purpose of the new name is to better reflect the company's...

Top Subservicers at Sept. 30, 2001.(mortgages)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... (Dollars in Millions) Rank Organization Name Location 1 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (1) Des Moines, IA 2 Dovenmuehle Mortgage Schaumburg, IL 3 Cenlar Ewing, NJ 4 ...

Child of The Money Store Emerges as a Force in Subservicing.(HomeEq Servicing)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... The Money Store may be gone, but its survivors are positioned to become a player in subservicing nonconforming loans. Rating agencies have recently evaluated and approved HomeEq Servicing, the First Union division created to service The...

Top subprime Subservicers at Sept. 30, 2001.(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name Location 1 Fairbanks Capital Corp. Salt Lake City, UT 2 Option One Mortgage Corp. Irvine, CA 3 Wendover Financial Services Corp....

Greystone Puts Focus on Managing Franchise Loans.(Greystone Servicing Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Greystone Servicing Corp. here has announced the formation of a franchise servicing division headed by Betsy Vartainian, a veteran of this unique niche. Greystone, a commercial mortgage servicer ranked by Standard & Poor's, currently...

Alltel Exec: Security Must Be a Priority.(Rob Lee)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... When it comes to issues of security, Alltel employees have been trained to look for the shark. According to Alltel's executive vice president Rob Lee, the shark logo his company uses to keep employees thinking about security is one step in...

Micro General Buys SmartClose System.(Expeditrix Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Micro General Corp. here has acquired the technology assets of Austin, Texas-based Expeditrix Corp. and its real estate closing product, SmartClose, for $250,000. Expeditrix, which closed its doors late last year, spent over $7 million in...

Alltel Re-Elected to MISMO Committee.(Alltel Information Services)(Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Alltel has been re-elected to serve on MISMO's governance committee. The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization was formed in late 1999 by the Mortgage Bankers of America to establish eXtensible Markup Language data interchange...

Servicing People.(personnel changes)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... ALABAMA Birmingham- Collateral Mortgage Capital LLC has named Scott Kavel as vice president of senior housing and head of an office in Duluth, Ga. In addition, Catherine A.H. Bergwall, Patricia O'Bannon Muse and Jackie Williams have been...