Mortgage Servicing News articles from May 2006

Mortgage Servicing News archives from May 2006

GM Finally Sells Big Stakes In Real Estate Lending Units.
May 1, 2006... Washington -- Cash-starved General Motors has finally unloaded controlling stakes in its residential and commercial mortgage banking empires, selling the storied franchises to two different investor groups. In late March, a group that...

Experts Foresee Pressure on Credit.
May 1, 2006... Washington -- With delinquency rates edging up at the end of last year, economists warn that lenders should be prepared to see loan problems continue rising in the near term despite a strong economy. A study by PMI Mortgage Insurance finds...

Matrix Sells Assets of Servicing Advisory Unit.(Matrix Bancorp Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Denver -- Matrix Bancorp here has sold the assets of its servicing advisory group to Security National Holding Co., Eureka, Calif., and former employees of the unit for $4.1 million. The advisory group, Matrix Bancorp Trading, evaluates and...

GMAC's Residential Servicing.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... (Dollars in Millions) Servicing Volume % Market Mkt Shr Organization Location 12/31/05 12/31/04 Change Share % pt. +/- GMAC Residential Holdings (1) Horsham, PA $288,813...

'Reg AB' May Vex Industry.
May 1, 2006... Washington -- Private-label issuers, servicers and their auditors are still grappling with the testing and reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission's new asset-backed securities regulation and need more time to adjust,...

Irwin Unloading $14B in Servicing.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Columbus, OH-Irwin Financial Corp. here is toying with the idea of selling $14 billion in servicing rights housed at its mortgage affiliate, investment banking sources told Mortgage Servicing News. A spokeswoman for IFC declined to comment....

Top Subservicers at 12/31/05.
May 1, 2006... (Dollars in Millions) Subservicing Volume % Rk Organization Name Location 12/31/05 12/31/04 change 1 Dovenmuehle Mortgage (E) Schaumburg, IL...

Commercial Real Estate Debt Market Grows at Record Pace.
May 1, 2006... Washington -- Commercial mortgage debt outstanding rose 14.2% from the end of 2004, growing to $2.64 trillion at the end of 2005. For the fourth quarter of 2005 alone, commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding rose by $103...

Martin Baumann.(Freddie Mac )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Mr. Baumann, chief financial officer at Freddie Mac since 2003, has resigned from the company. Chief operating officer Eugene McQuade has assumed the CFO duties while a search is conducted for a successor. A Freddie Mac spokeswoman told MSN...

Lenders Gain Choice on Accounting for MSRs.
May 1, 2006... New York -- The FASB has finally issued Financial Accounting Standard 156, which industry sources are calling a slam-dunk victory for mortgage servicers. The FASB said that the new standard, an amendment to FAS 140, will simplify the...

WaMu's Master Rating Upheld.(Washington Mutual Mortgage Securities Corp)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New York -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed its "RMS2+" residential master servicer rating for Washington Mutual Mortgage Securities Corp. Fitch said the rating is based on WaMu's ability to effectively oversee and monitor loan accounting,...

Investigations Continue.
May 1, 2006... Recently, things have been pretty quiet on the "predatory servicing" front. But if lenders let go of their vigilance, that could change in a heartbeat. Anyone who remembers Fairbanks Capital knows that coming into the sights of state attorneys...

High-Rise Condo Market Opens New Lender Frontier.
May 1, 2006... James Perry and Thomas Testa are presidents of Orange County, Calif.-based The Alliance Portfolio, a private money mortgage banking corporation that provides a variety of lending programs for commercial and residential real estate as well as...

In This Industry Downturn, Adapt or Get Out.
May 1, 2006... In a recent interview, MILA CEO and founder Layne Sapp summed up the current state of the industry best, saying, "Some of us are staying up late at night wondering what we're going to do next." In a moment of candor, Mr. Sapp seemed...

Longer Month Means Higher Prepay Rates.
May 1, 2006... Prepayment rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities increased by 21% in March, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. Overall speeds on 30-year Fannie Mae collateral came...

CreditSights: Too Early to Declare Victory for 'Exotic' Products.
May 1, 2006... New York -- Analysts at CreditSights say that while "exotic" mortgage products haven't been a problem for Countrywide Financial Corp. to date, it is "too early to declare victory in credit performance." In a recent investor presentation,...

Countrywide Wants Servicing Share To Lag Behind Its Origination Volume.
May 1, 2006... New York -- Never shy about publicizing its growth targets, Countrywide Financial Corp. now says it hopes to control nearly 30% of the home loan production market and 20% of the mortgage servicing market by 2010. And if that seems...

Clayton Poised to Expand in the Primary Market.
May 1, 2006... Shelton, CT -- On the heels of its successful IPO, Clayton Holdings believes that its new capital base gives it a stronger platform to offer new services to mortgage lenders and servicers. Chairman and CEO Frank Filipps isn't surprised by...

PMI Study Sees Widespread Risk of Price Declines.
May 1, 2006... Walnut Creek, CA -- Forty-eight of the 50 biggest metropolitan areas in the nation show signs of increasing risk for a decline in home prices, according to an analysis done by PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. However, PMI says that because of the...

Default Rates Appear to be Rising in Some Mortgage Pools.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Arlington, VA -- Default rates rose on prime and subprime mortgage pools tracked by Friedman Billings Ramsey in January, even as the number of defaults fell among alternative-A credit quality pools. "We attribute the year-over-year gains in...

Second Homes Point to Industry's Future.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Atlantic City, NJ -- Demographics, increasing numbers of new households being formed, nonprime lending, the second home market, higher loan-to-value ratios and price appreciation are six long-term drivers of growth for the mortgage industry,...

Fitch Puts LandAmerica on Ratings Watch.(LandAmerica Financial Group)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Richmond, VA -- LandAmerica Financial Group here has been placed on Rating Watch Negative by Fitch Ratings, Chicago, because of its agreement to acquire Capital Title Group Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz. The placement, Fitch said, is because of...

First Quarter a Challenge for Hedge Managers.
May 1, 2006... With major financial institutions starting to report first-quarter earnings, the management of mortgage servicing portfolios looks like a tricky business for many lenders. On the surface, it should seem like the best of times. Rates ended...

Lenders Defend Risk Management on 'Exotic' Loans.
May 1, 2006... Washington -- Federal banking regulators need to calm down and rethink their "unwarranted" and "excessive" underwriting restrictions on interest-only and payment-option mortgages, according to industry comment letters. Remarks filed by the...

HUD Reaffirms RESPA Agenda.(Department of Housing and Urban Development)(Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Washington -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development is preparing to issue a Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act reform proposal soon, according to secretary Alphonso Jackson. The HUD secretary told a congressional panel last...

Roundup: Wells Fargo Gets Top Master Servicer Rating.(Wells Fargo Bank N.A.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New York -- Wells Fargo Bank has received the top master servicer rating, SQ1, from Moody's Investors Service. Moody's said the rating reflects Wells Fargo's strong reporting and remittance processes, above-average compliance and monitoring...

GMACCM Gets Upgrade.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New York -- Fitch Ratings has raised its primary servicer rating on GMAC Commercial Mortgage to "CPS1-" from "CPS2+." Fitch likewise raised the company's master servicer rating one notch to "CMS1-." Fitch credited CMACCM's "strong ability...

Wachovia's Ratings Affirmed.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New York -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the commercial mortgage-backed securities ratings of Wachovia at "CPS2+" as a primary servicer, "CMS2" as a master servicer and "CSS2" as a special servicer. Fitch noted that Wachovia has increased its...

LoanCare Servicing Upgraded.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New York -- Fitch Ratings has upgraded LoanCare Servicing Center's residential primary servicer rating to "RPS3" from "RPS3-" citing LoanCare's capable management team, effective loan administration procedures and improved formal training...

Fitch Rates CDO Asset Managers.
May 1, 2006... New York -- Fitch Ratings has assigned structured finance CDO asset manager ratings to a number of firms recently. GMAC Institutional Advisors received a "CAM1" rating from Fitch. GMAC Institutional Advisors provides a range of...

Accounting Rules May Hamper Servicers.
May 1, 2006... Accounting standards that stringently define the scope of servicer discretion in dealing with properties backing securitized loans could clash with the proposal to modernize the real estate mortgage investment conduit structure to provide more...

Deloitte & Touche: No Bubble to Burst in Commercial.
May 1, 2006... In the real estate industry there's always talk about the real estate bubble and discussion about if and when the said bubble is going to burst. Although this type of speculation makes sense for the residential real estate market, a report...

Schnitzer Will Lead CharterMac.(appointment of Marc D. Schnitzer )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New York -- Marc D. Schnitzer has been named chief executive officer of CharterMac, replacing Stephen M. Ross, who has served as interim CEO of the company since last November. Mr. Ross will continue to be chairman of CharterMac, the...

Countrywide Helps ACORN Reach Katrina Homeowners.(Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now)(Countrywide Financial Corp)
May 1, 2006... Houston -- Countrywide Financial Corp. and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now have launched a joint telephone and door-to-door campaign to locate Hurricane Katrina evacuees and connect them with their lender. As of...

SBA Offers Aid In Mississippi.(United States. Small Business Administration)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Jackson, MS -- Federal disaster loans are now available from the Small Business Administration to small, non-farm, agriculture-dependent businesses located in the entire state of Mississippi as the result of damages and losses to crops caused...

Experian Tool Tracks Changes in Consumer Credit Profiles.
May 1, 2006... Costa Mesa, CA -- Experian has launched a new tool dubbed Credit Migration Solutions to make it easier for mortgage institutions to prospect, manage their portfolio and handle collections. The product allows the user to analyze the credit...

Credit Bureaus Joining Forces.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New York -- The nation's top credit reporting agencies have joined forces to market a new product that promises more accurate returns for lenders. VantageScore, created by TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, is a new system the companies...

Nationwide Launches 'Express Retrieval' Service.
May 1, 2006... Palm Harbor, FL -- Nationwide Title Clearing, an outsource provider for lien release, assignment, document retrieval and final document services, has released Express Retrieval, an enhanced document retrieval service. Express Retrieval will...

Housing Futures Are New Risk Tool.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... CHICAGO -- The CBOE Futures Exchange plans to launch futures contracts based upon median prices in the National Association of Realtors existing home price data. Through a licensing agreement with the NAR, the Futures Exchange has created...

Fraud Detection Key to Loss Prevention.
May 1, 2006... Calabasas, CA -- Saxon Mortgage says any undetected fraud equals loss on the backend and technology can help ease the problem. "We automate our fraud detection at both pre- and post-funding," explained Julie Woodley, VP of risk at Saxon....

Carolina Consortium Is Using FICS.(Financial Industry Computer Systems)
May 1, 2006... San Diego -- Financial Industry Computer Systems, a mortgage technology specialist that provides in-house commercial servicing technology to the mortgage industry, launched at the MBA technology conference here the implementation of its...

Freddie Will Use Technology Vendors.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... San Diego -- Gone are the days that Freddie Mac will look to build all of its technology in-house. The GSE said at the MBA tech show here that it will look to the market to buy technology and integrate it within its enterprise. In the...

Managing Portfolios.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... While rising interest rates are helping to shore up servicing values, a flat yield curve is challenging lenders as they try to manage the interest rate risk inherent in the asset. And that is just one of the things that servicing managers have...

Moody's: Offshoring Trend Is Likely to Keep Growing.
May 1, 2006... New York -- About a quarter of mortgage servicers rated by Moody's Investors Service outsource some loan administration functions overseas, and many of these are even sending some customer contact work abroad. "Currently, nine of the 35...

Refinancing At 2 Year Low.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... New York -- When the average 30-year mortgage rate reached 6.37% in early March, its highest level since September 2003, that robbed more homeowners of a rate incentive to refinance. The benchmark rate remained above 6.3% for the rest of the...

As Goes California, So Goes Wells Fargo.
May 1, 2006... New York -- Wells Fargo may be the nation's second biggest mortgage lender, but about one-third of the residential home loans it holds in portfolio come from California. In a recent 10K filing, Wells Fargo revealed that 33% of its...

Ambac Focuses on Risk Diversification.(Ambac Assurance Corp.)
May 1, 2006... New York -- The president and CEO of Ambac Assurance Corp., one of the top bond insurance firms in the fixed-income securities market, said a key driver of his firm's financial performance is risk management. "Risk diversification is key...

Mid-Cap Lenders Are Facing Challenges.
May 1, 2006... New York -- With the first quarter of 2006 coming toward a close, analysts at Merrill Lynch think that medium-sized banks may find it difficult to continue posting strong stock price gains. In a recent report, the investment banking firm...

VA 'No Bids' an Issue For Katrina Servicers.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Washington -- Residential servicers are beginning to review their Veteran Administration-insured loans in the Gulf Coast states, calculating how many will end up as "no-bids" due to hurricane damage. After factoring insurance payouts and...

Servicing People.
May 1, 2006... CALIFORNIA San Mateo-Remend Inc. has appointed Steve Kadel to the new role of solution architect. Mr. Kadel brings 30 years of mortgage industry experience in the design and development of new systems and has lead system deployments...

Florida Market Seen Softening.
May 1, 2006... Orlando, FL -- Rising inventory levels and still-low mortgage rates have continued to affect Florida's housing market, which is adjusting to a better balance between buyers and sellers following a five-year run of record sales. Statewide,...