Mortgage Servicing News articles from November 2001

Mortgage Servicing News archives from November 2001

Issue Date Notice.
November 1, 2001... November, 2001

Servicers Give WTC Relief.
November 1, 2001... In an effort to help borrowers who have been directly affected in the recent terrorist attacks, the government- sponsored enterprises as well as many mortgage servicers, have decided to relax their normal collection procedures. Freddie Mac...

Rate Drop Puts Refi Engine in High Gear.
November 1, 2001... In late September, refinancing activity hit new peaks as consumers jumped back into the mortgage market, renewing the expectation that portfolio churning will reach a record volume this year. Following the Sept. 11 assault on America,...

Attack Won't Damage Credit.
November 1, 2001... In the wake of the Sept. 11 attack on America, rating agencies and industry economists are beginning to decipher the fallout for the mortgage finance industry. The good news is that credit quality, in both the residential and commercial...

Piercy Bolts Matrix Capital.
November 1, 2001... Tom Piercy, who helped build Matrix Capital Markets here into one of the busiest servicing brokerages in the nation, has resigned from the company and launched his own firm with other former Matrix officials. "We just felt Matrix was...

HomeSide Still On Auction Block.
November 1, 2001... The owners of HomeSide Lending, Jacksonville, are committed to selling the mega-servicer even though interest rates continue to fall and recent terrorist attacks are slowing merger activity nationwide, servicing advisors say. However, as...

MSN/SPECIAL REPORT.
November 1, 2001... Managing Mortgage Insurance More and more people are making low downpayment loans, and mortgage insurance is the only reason they can do it. Lenders see it as an essential tool for managing credit risk exposure. Page 21 Copyright c...

Government Invokes Soldiers & Sailors Relief Act.
November 1, 2001... Housing secretary Mel Martinez has invoked one of the government's war powers that requires all mortgage lenders to provide interest rate relief for reservists and members of the National Guard called to active duty. The Department of...

Home Equity Delinquencies Edge Up.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Delinquencies on home equity loans nationwide increased from year to year in both the first and second quarters, according to a report by the American Bankers Association. The numbers in the report have not been seasonally adjusted. ...

Top Subservicers at June 30, 2001.(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2001... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 3) Rk Organization Name Location 1 Wells Fargo Home Mtg (1) Des Moines, IA 2 Dovenmuehle Mortgage (E) Schaumburg, IL 3 Cenlar Ewing, NJ...

EDS Brings New Approach to International Servicing with Westpac Deal.(Electronic Data Systems)(Westpac Banking)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The way Larry Walker tells it, EDS (Electronic Data Systems) here has been changing the way the mortgage professionals throughout the world think about subservicing. Mr. Walker, managing director in EDS's global financial industry group,...

Disaster's Aftermath.(World Trade Center and Pentagon Attacks, 2001)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... According to the New York Daily News, the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York inflicted $60 billion worth of property and casualty losses on New York City. The human toll is even more staggering. The firm of Cantor...

Retention Rate Can Be Enhanced.(Domania Inc CEO Steven Kropper on the problem of retaining customers)
November 1, 2001... Steven Kropper is co-founder and CEO of Domania Inc. (www.domania.com), a Boston-based financial and marketing services software company that provides customer acquisition and retention products. Last month, Mr. Kropper wrote about the...

A Special Thanks...(effect of World Trade Center Attack on Thomson Financial Media)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
November 1, 2001... Those of us working at MSN and the other mortgage publications of Thomson Financial Media want to thank readers, advertisers and business partners for their concern and support in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City. Our...

Mortgage Scene: New Found Gold: the Servicing Rights on a 6% Mortgage.
November 1, 2001... I can hear the conversations between a husband and wife before they even happen: "Honey, what do you mean you want to move? But, but... we have a 6% mortgage. Please, honey, no... I'll give up the Friday night poker game with the boys, but...

Speed Watch: A Harbinger of Things To Come? Prepayments Rise Again.
November 1, 2001... Prepayment rates for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities rose nearly across the board in August, with especially strong speed-ups in the 7.0% coupons. While the speeds of new Fannie Mae 7.5s and 8.0s rose 3%-6% (and...

Measell Sees MBA as 'Must Go' Show.(Mortgage Bankers Association of America convention)(Mortgage Bankers Association of America convention)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... For Mortgage Dynamics Inc., the annual Mortgage Bankers Association of America convention represents a marketing opportunity and a chance to "touch base" with clients, according to managing director Dan Measell. The management consulting...

Commercial Servicer: Attack Dims Hope for Avoiding an Outright Recession.
November 1, 2001... An economy that was limping along and barely managing to ward off a recession may likely be pushed into recession as a fallout of the recent terrorist attacks on the country. More and more, economists and researchers (a number of who were...

GMAC Expands Its Presence in Europe.(enters into strategic alliance with Groupe Bazin)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... GMAC Commercial Holding Corp., a commercial real estate financier and servicer, has entered into a strategic alliance with Groupe Bazin, a French company that provides real estate services. The main objective of the alliance is "to meet...

Hedging: In Wake of Attacks, Lenders Wonder What Terrorism Means for Credit Markets.
November 1, 2001... Is there any way to hedge for a disaster like the events of Sept. 11? Yes and no, risk management experts tell MSN. The disastrous terrorist attack on Sept. 11, the worst in world history, did more than kill over 6,000 people. The...

Roundup: S&P Sees Stable Outlook for High LTV Servicer.(Master Financial Inc., )
November 1, 2001... Rating agency Standard & Poor's assigned its 'above average' ranking to Master Financial Inc., as an alternative loan servicer, saying that the firm's outlook is 'stable.' The rating agency said the ranking reflects Master Financial's...

London Bridge Expects to Showcase New Technology at the MBA.(Mortgage Bankers Association of America convention)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... London Bridge Group expects to make a "fairly major announcement" at the MBA annual convention, says Dave Demster, president, mortgage division, with the technology solutions vendor. The company will be demonstrating Diamond, its new...

Flood Program Sees Fiscal Turnaround.(National Flood Insurance Program)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... As FEMA tries to reform the National Flood Insurance Program to expand coverage and reduce repetitive losses, it does so against a backdrop of good news about the NFIP's financial performance. Under the NFIP, some 4.3 million property...

SERVICERS RANKED BY NUMBER OF LOANS SERVICED AT 6/30/01.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 1, 2001... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name Location 1 Washington Mutual Seattle, WA 2 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Des Moines, IA 3 Chase Manhattan Mortgage...

Safeco Acquires ACE USA's FIS Insurance Services Division.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Safeco Corp. and ACE USA, the U.S.-based operating division of the ACE Group of Companies that is headed by ACE Limited, announced that Safeco Select Insurance Services will acquire ACE USA's Financial Institution Specialists division. ...

Landata Enhances Title Software.
November 1, 2001... Landata Systems Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp., has released version 2.4 of its Landata Title Plant for Windows. Among the enhancements offered in the new version is an invoicing system. The Title...

Two Lenders Install DRI's Default System.(DRI Management Systems)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... DRI Management Systems has announced that Principal Residential Mortgage, a Des Moines, Iowa lender that manages a 550,000-mortgage loan portfolio, has implemented DRI's claims management module for their defaulted mortgage loan servicing. ...

Recent Events Renew Focus on Risk Management Issues.(Mortgage Bankers Association of America Convention)
November 1, 2001... With memories of a national tragedy fresh in mind, attendees at this year's MBA national convention are likely to focus more attention on issues such as disaster recovery than they might otherwise have, according to two consultants who will...

MPF Lenders Will Be Able To Sell Servicing.(Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank to add servicing to its mortgage purchase finance program)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... By year's end, the Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank hopes to add servicing released transactions to the mortgage purchase finance program it pioneered four years ago. Such a product "is critical" to the continued success of the MPF program,...

Subservicing Offers Another MPF Option.(Mortgage Partnership Finance)(Federal Home Loan Bank)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... At the moment lenders participating on the Mortgage Partnership Finance risk-sharing venture have to retain ownership of servicing rights on the loans they originate. But that does not, one subservicing expert explains, mean that lenders...

Cenlar Provides ACB Servicing Option.(Cenlar Federal Savings Bank)(America's Community Bankers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Community banks participating in America's Community Bankers/ Fannie Mae affinity program now have the option of using a private label subservicer as way to comply with Fannie Mae servicing requirements. The subservicer is Cenlar FSB and...

Flood Program Sees Turnaround.(United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... As FEMA tries to reform the National Flood Insurance Program to expand coverage and reduce repetitive losses, it does so against a backdrop of good news about the NFIP's financial performance. Under the NFIP, some 4.3 million property...

CSW Provides Fitch With Automated Home Price Data.
November 1, 2001... Case Shiller Weiss here has announced an agreement to provide its automated home valuation model to the international rating agency Fitch for use in appraisal evaluations. Fitch will use CSW's CASA portfolio valuation services to detect...

Managing Mortgage Insurance Special Report.(PMI Mortgage Insurance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. here has made an enhanced version of e-PMI servicing available to lenders over the Internet and secure electronic connections. John Jelavich, PMI's assistant vice president for policy servicing/structured...

PMI Unveils 'Next Generation' Enhancement to Online Servicing System.(PMI Mortgage Insurance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. here has made an enhanced version of e-PMI servicing available to lenders over the Internet and secure electronic connections. John Jelavich, PMI's assistant vice president for policy servicing/structured...

Triad Opens Office.(Triad Guaranty)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Triad Guaranty Inc., Winston-Salem, N.C., has opened its 11th underwriting office in this suburb of Cleveland. This location will serve mortgage originators in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. The company said a significant growth in...

MGIC Sees a Second Quarter Drop in Housing Market Conditions.(Mortgage Guaranty Insurance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... While the housing market has held up well compared to some segments of the economy, one mortgage insurer started to see signs of softening in the housing market during the second quarter, well before the economic slump became serious in...

Business Grows, But Defaults Rise.(mortgage insurance industry)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Spurred by heavy lending volume, the private mortgage insurance industry reported an increase in new MI policies in August, but a slowing economy is showing its impact on the back-end of the business. New MI defaults outpaced cures in...

GE Automates Claims on the Web.(General Electric Co. Mortgage Insurance Cos.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... GE Mortgage Insurance is offering what it says is the industry's first real-time, online claims service. The system substitutes online access for traditional paper and fax filings, GE said. Claim submissions are analyzed and settlement...

Radian Says Title Alternative Reduces the Cost of Refinancing.(Radian Guaranty)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Radian Guaranty Inc., has developed a title insurance alternative that the mortgage insurance company claims can knock 50% off the cost of traditional title products on refinancings, second mortgages and home equity loans. Radian is...

Triad Hires New Controller.
November 1, 2001... Triad Guaranty here has hired Michael Crow as vice president and controller. In his new position, Mr. Crow will be responsible for all financial reporting, accounting, and reporting compliance as well as accounting control functions for...

Ginnie Mae Gives Guidance.(United States. Government National Mortgage Association helps the armed forces)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Ginnie Mae has made it easier for servicers to accommodate reservists and members of the National Guard who have been called up for active duty by reducing their monthly principal payments. In a letter to all participants, Ginnie Mae says...

Liquidity Remains Strong.(bond market liquidity)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Although bond market liquidity throughout the world has been disrupted by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, one expert here believes that the lower rates and government intervention will prevent any long- term liquidity shortages...