Mortgage Servicing News articles from February 2007

Mortgage Servicing News archives from February 2007

Loan Universe Looks Strong.(home loans are on the rise)
February 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- More than 80% of home loans outstanding were originated since 2002, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association study. Most are just entering their peak period of default risk. But a peak beneath the numbers suggests that...

Top 'Alt-A' Servicers in Q3 '06.(mortgage banks)(Statistical data)(Company rankings)
February 1, 2007... (Dollars in Millions) 'Alt-A' Servicers % Rank Organization Name Location Q3 '06 Q3 '05 change 1 Aurora Loan Services, Inc. (1) ...

...But Subprime Problems Persist.(Statistical data)
February 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Default rates on subprime loans are rising as poor job markets in the Midwest and New England have taken their toll on loan performance while default rates in the hurricane-impacted states remain at elevated levels. In addition,...

Default Hearings Planned.(subprime lending)
February 1, 2007... WASHINTON -- The new Congress is gearing up to hold hearings on subprime lending and rising foreclosures which will put more pressure on federal regulators to tighten underwriting standards on subprime adjustable-rate products. As the...

MLN, Other B&C Servicers Find Selves in Hot Water.(Mortgage Lenders Network USA Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- The struggling Mortgage Lenders Network of Connecticut is auctioning off a $5 billion chunk of servicing rights in an effort to raise money, sources confirmed to Mortgage Servicing News. At press time, no information was...

Delinquency, Default Rates Creeping Up.(foreclosure)
February 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Delinquency and foreclosure rates rose across the board in the third quarter, providing further evidence that the housing market is in the process of a much-anticipated correction. Overall, 4.67% of all home loans were 30 or...

U.S. Bank Becomes $100 Billion Servicer.(U.S. Bank Home Mortgage)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... MINNEAPOLIS -- U.S. Bank Home Mortgage, the mortgage affiliate of U.S. Bancorp here, has surpassed $100 billion in home loan servicing receivables. U.S. Bank is the nation's 16th largest mortgage servicer, according to statistics compiled by...

Fitch Sees Need for Criteria Tailored to Option-ARMs.(adjustable-rate mortgage )
February 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Pay-option adjustable-rate mortgage loans appear to be in the limelight of both risk analysts and consumer advocates. Fitch Ratings has started a new rating criteria report that uses "various refinements" in methodology for...

Cash Out Refis Are Rising Again.(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... MCLEAN, VA -- Although Freddie Mac is reporting that cash-out figures for the third quarter of 2006 are at the highest level in 16 years and most Freddie Mac-owned loans that were refinanced resulted in new mortgages with loan amounts that were...

Editorial: A New Focus on REO.(Real Estate Owned )(Editorial)(Statistical data)
February 1, 2007... The new year is full of mixed blessings for mortgage servicing executives. Rates have remained reasonably stable, but refinancing activity is higher than many had expected. Delinquencies are creeping up, but not so far and so fast as some had...

Point of View: FC Lawyers Are Subject To FDCPA in 4th Circuit.(Foreclosure)(Fair Debt Collection Practices Act)(Draper & Goldberg law firms)(Viewpoint essay)
February 1, 2007... Mr. Hutchens and Ms. Miranda are from the law firm of Hutchens, Senter and Britton. This article is adapted from one that originally appeared in the January 2007 USFN e-update. USFN - America's Mortgage Banking Attorneys, is a resource network...

The B&C Survivors ... the Envelope, Please.(Column)
February 1, 2007... It's "correction time" in the subprime industry. Over the past six weeks the death knell has sounded for firms such as Harbourton, Ownit Mortgage Solutions and Sebring Capital - and those are just the ones we know of. These mortgage...

Housing Turnover Drives up Prepayment Rate.
February 1, 2007... Prepayment rates for 30-year mortgages in Fannie Mae mortgage-backed securities rose by 10% in December, driven by stronger-than-expected turnover, according to Bear Stearns & Co. The aggregate speed on 30-year Fannie Maes was a constant...

Servicers Starting to Emphasize Fraud Detection.(Conference news)
February 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS -- There are several challenges for mortgage servicers when it comes to detecting mortgage fraud, an executive with one of the leading technology firms told attendees at the SourceMedia Mortgage Fraud Conference here. Lester...

Servicers Stretched as Workload Grows.
February 1, 2007... As the commercial mortgage market has matured in the last 10 years, the role of commercial servicer has become increasingly complex. It's not just about making timely principal and interest payments and managing the occasional delinquency and...

CRE Debt Outstanding Approaches $3 Trillion.(Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt )(Statistical data)
February 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding reached $2.845 trillion in the third quarter, an increase of 2.9% from the second quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports, based on an analysis of the Federal...

Yield Curve Likely to Keep Hedging Costs High: January pointed toward continued growth, with both wages and job creation showing strength.
February 1, 2007... A bevy of year-end economic outlooks suggest that mortgage hedging managers are heading into another challenging year. Most economists expect the yield curve between long-term and short-term interest rates to remain relatively flat - and...

Margin Pressure Expected to Persist this Year.
February 1, 2007... OLDWICK, NJ -- Analysts at A.M. Best predict that the banking industry will find it difficult to increase net interest margins this year, even if the Fed holds off on further interest rate increases. With loan losses creeping up, "erratic...

Tax Bill Boon To MI Industry?
February 1, 2007... ARLINGTON, VA -- The passage of a bill that makes mortgage insurance premiums tax deductible is one more factor that improves the outlook for mortgage insurance stocks, according to analysts at Friedman Billings Ramsey. Just before...

Mitigating REO Losses: Technology That Helps - Something New.(Editorial)
February 1, 2007... With this issue of Mortgage Servicing News we are trying something new for the Mortgage Group: a print/online hybrid publication. So this initial edition of Managing REO you are seeing as part of your monthly digest of servicing news (and what...

Technology Key to Managing Rise in Defaults: 'There needs to be a push in technology to get those people who are processing the loan connected with law firms and attorneys.'.
February 1, 2007... CHICAGO -- Default servicing costs have increased substantially in the last several years, resulting in a push to focus more on loss mitigation. There is currently a disconnection between the collection component of the default process and...

REO Vendors Work On Setting Themselves Apart.(real estate owned)(REO Nationwide)(Company overview)
February 1, 2007... NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- In a people-driven, dependent business, REO vendors are making it a priority to set themselves apart from other outsource firms. C.J. Gehlke, founder and chief executive officer of Newport Beach, Calif.-based REO...

Lenders to Manage the REO Cycle with an Eye on Costs.(real estate owned)
February 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- The mortgage industry is bracing for trouble, as lenders and investors face the prospect of having a flood of REO (real estate owned) on their hands. A study by the Center for Responsible Lending predicts that 2.2 million American...

Southwest: Worst Default Epidemic.(Statistical data)
February 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- The nation's foreclosure epidemic continues unchecked with homeowners in the Southwest feeling the worst effects. Squeezed by high-energy prices, climbing interest rates, and aftereffects from creative financing, thousands of...

Risky Products Add to Foreclosure Workload: There are too many product options out there.(Conference news)
February 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS -- There are rising delinquencies, some of which are caused by the economy but others by issues with products, such as with stated-income loans where the income was overstated, said a participant in a panel on managing third parties...

Niche Players Still Prominent in Default Servicing Technology.
February 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Despite the emphasis of large technology providers on incorporating default management and workout technology into core servicing systems, specialized technology providers still believe they can offer something better. And they...

Closing Co. Introduces Higher Risk Screening Tool.
February 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- For buyers of higher-risk foreclosure property, The Closing Co. has launched "Foreclosure Disclosure," a service that quickly provides comprehensive and accurate insight on actual title and lien status of properties - before a...

MERS Servicer ID on AFN Site.(American Legal & Financial Network)(MERS Corp.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... ST. LOUIS -- The American Legal & Financial Network is offering on its website the MERS Servicer ID, a free-of-charge Internet tool that identifies the company servicing listed mortgage loans at the moment of inquiry. The partnership...

Banks Speed Up Efforts to Winterize Foreclosed Assets.
February 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- With foreclosures on the rise, it's more important than ever before to take the proper steps to winterize and secure properties in order to protect and preserve the bank's asset. From October to the end of March, properties are...

Debt Resolve Raises $20M.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... WHITE PLAINS, NY -- Debt Resolve, a firm that invests in and collects consumer debt, has secured a $20 million financing line through its wholly owned subsidiary, DRV Capital. The company said it will use the credit line to purchase...

Legal Issues.
February 1, 2007... There is no shortage of legal expertise servicing the mortgage banking industry, with numerous networks and associations of attorneys providing guidance to the industry on regulatory compliance, collections, foreclosures, bankruptcies and other...

N.Y. Court Upholds MERS Position.(New York Court of Appeals )(MERS mortgage )
February 1, 2007... MCLEAN, VA -- The New York Court of Appeals has ruled that the MERS mortgage is a valid method of transferring rights from the borrower to MERS. The appeals court affirmed a lower court's decision that county clerks must record MERS mortgages,...

Servicers Face Challenges Related to Reg AB Transition: 'We expect the scope of Reg AB to encompass and satisfy our minimum internal audit requirements.'.
February 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- With a key deadline for compliance with Regulation AB drawing near, rating agencies are stepping up efforts to monitor the compliance of loan servicers with the new reporting requirements. Both Standard & Poor's and Fitch...

Chistopher T. Salyer.(appointment at Senter and Britton )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Mr. Salyer has joined the creditor rights law firm of Hutchens, Senter & Britton in North Carolina as an associate. His practice will be located in the firm's Fayetteville, N.C., office, where he will concentrate on providing foreclosure...

Maryland Default Attorney Makes 'Super Lawyer' List.(Jeffrey Fisher )(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... UPPER MARLBORO, MD -- Jeffrey Fisher, founding member of the Fisher Law Group here, has been selected for inclusion in the 2007 Maryland and District of Columbia editions of Super Lawyers magazine. The Fisher Group provides foreclosure,...

Kaulkin Ginsberg Honored.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS -- Collection Advisor magazine has included the principals of Kaulkin Ginsberg, a Bethesda, Md.-based collection advisory firm, among the magazine's list of the 50 most influential professionals in the collection industry. Marvin...

FBI Sees Growing Evidence of Organized Mortgage Fraud.(Federal Bureau of Investigation)
February 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS -- The latest statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirm that mortgage fraud is on the upswing. "We can't find a chart that doesn't show up in a big way," special agent Bill Stern said at the Mortgage Fraud...

Frank Predicts GSE Bill Passage.(government sponsored enterprises)(Barney Frank)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives can pass a GSE regulatory reform bill by April 2 when Congress leaves for its spring recess, predicted the new chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass.,...

Servicing People.(appointments)
February 1, 2007... CALIFORNIA San Mateo-Stewart Title of California, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp., hired Jeff Sickler as manager for Stewart's North Bay region will be responsible for overseeing and developing operations in...

Struggling Subprime Firms -- A Scorecard.(Brief article)(Company rankings)
February 1, 2007... (Dollars in Millions) Lender/Servicer B&C Serv. The Name at 9/30/06 Situation Ameriquest $74,000 Suffered major cuts, company for ...