Mortgage Servicing News articles from November 2002

Mortgage Servicing News archives from November 2002

Mortgage Servicing Values Plummet To Historic Lows.
November 1, 2002... With mortgage rates hitting a four-decade low in October, the market for mortgage servicing rights continued to tailspin downward, according to an index created by the Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. Moreover, some industry experts...

Is a Top Ten Lender Up for Grabs?
November 1, 2002... Is one of the top 10 servicers considering bolting the business, or at least selling its receivables? It's hard to say, but one investment banking official told Mortgage Servicing News recently that the parent company of a large...

Servicing-Related Deals of the Last Several Months.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 1, 2002... (Dollars in Millions) Name of Buyer Name of Co. Servicing Being Bought Rights WaMu (1) HomeSide $131,000 American Home Columbia Nat. $6,800 BB&T Regional...

FHA Will Speed Bad Loan Sales.(Federal Housing Administration)
November 1, 2002... The Federal Housing Administration is taking a new approach to selling nonperforming single-family loans and the agency is hoping it will reduce foreclosure costs for the government and servicers. This approach is designed to quickly...

Servicing Volumes at September 30, 2002 (A sample).(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 1, 2002... (Dollars in Millions) Servicer Serv. 9/30/02 Serv. 9/30/01 % Chng. Associated Mortgage $6,974 $7,026 -1% CDC Mortgage $724 $939 -23% Countrywide Home...

Data Suggests Delinquencies May be Flattening.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... While foreclosures rose in the second quarter for prime quality, residential mortgage loans, other data suggests that the trend toward rising delinquencies may have peaked. Recently, the American Bankers Association's consumer credit...

Prepay Surge Keeps on Going.(mortgage loans)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... As Yogi Berra would say, it feels like deja vu all over again. Mortgage rates have fallen to a record low (5.98% in the week ending October 11, according to Freddie Mac); refinancing accounts for more than two-thirds of loan applications;...

Snapshot: Banks See Low Home Equity Delinquencies.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 1, 2002... Loan Type: 2nd Q 1st Q HE Loans: 1.28% 1.28% HELOCs: 0.58% 0.64% Copyright c 2002 Thomson Media. All Rights Reserved.

Mozilo Still Says 5 Will Dominate.(Angelo Mozilo, mortgage servicers)
November 1, 2002... A little more than two years ago, Countrywide Home Loans chief Angelo Mozilo predicted that within five years just five firms would control most of the housing receivables in the U.S. The industry is almost at the half-way point in regard...

Ohio Bank Slashes Its Mortgage Servicing Values.(Metropolitan Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Metropolitan Financial Corp., parent of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., expects to reduce the value of its mortgage servicing rights by almost $9 million, saying its prepayment speed assumptions were flawed. The company said its...

The Risk of a Bubble.(home prices)
November 1, 2002... The good news is that there is no evidence of a widespread bubble in home prices, though some regional markets are showing signs of trouble. The bad news is that there is a substantial risk that a home price bubble may be developing. As...

A Warning About Need For Due Diligence.(Federal Housing Administration loans)
November 1, 2002... John Weicher, assistant secretary for housing and federal housing commissioner, recently sent out a Mortgagee Letter to servicers of Federal Housing Administration loans advising them about how to avoid acquiring "predatory loans" in the...

Investors Ask: What's the Rap on Duration Gap?(time between assets and liabilities)
November 1, 2002... If anyone really, truly understands what a "duration gap" is and what it really truly means in regard to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's financial health, give me a call, I'd like to chat with you. Depending on who you talk to, Fannie's...

Some High Coupon Loans Are Not Refinancing as Fast as Expected.
November 1, 2002... The speeds of most agency mortgage-backed securities increased in the September reporting period, but the acceleration wasn't as fast as expected for 7.5% coupons and above, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. Speeds of...

Hibernia Takes an MSR Hit; But Doesn't Stumble on Earnings.(mortgage servicing rights)
November 1, 2002... Hibernia Corp. announced recently that its third-quarter earnings will be affected by a $13.5 million "provision for the temporary impairment of mortgage servicing rights" and an additional $1.4 million loss of securities. On the plus...

Money Laundering, Fraud Detection Rules Will Affect Lenders.
November 1, 2002... With the country's new awareness about terrorists since 9/11 and the federal government's continued effort to prevent U.S. financial institutions, including mortgage lenders, from inadvertently providing any funds to such parties, a new...

Southwest Bancorp's Servicing Hit Rattles Investors in its Stock.
November 1, 2002... Southwest Bancorporation of Texas announced that its third-quarter earnings will be affected by a $1.9 million "non-cash writedown" of its mortgage servicing asset, reflecting the decline in interest rates since June 30. The company also...

Fannie's Portfolio Management Team Not Worried by Gap.(Federal National Mortgage Association)
November 1, 2002... Investors may have been spooked by the news that the "duration gap" between Fannie Mae's assets and liabilities widened out to 14 months this summer, but you wouldn't know it from talking to the company's senior executives. Fannie Mae's...

Despite Slowdown, Spike in Hotel Defaults Has Not Occurred.(Industry Overview)
November 1, 2002... Between the drop-off in travel following last September's terrorist attacks, and a general decline in hotel occupancy as businesses cut back on travel, the hotel sector has been hard hit in the current economic downturn. The good news is that...

Investors Getting More Data From GMACCM Investor Site.(GMAC Commercial Mortgage)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... GMAC Commercial Mortgage has made some improvements to its investor query website. The website, an online resource for investors to access information on commercial mortgage-backed securities serviced by GMACCM, will offer users the...

Top commercial servicers at June 30, 2002.(mortgage loan servicers)(Illustration)
November 1, 2002... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Company Location 1 GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. Horsham, PA 2 Midland Loan Services/PNC RE Finance Kansas City, MO 3 ...

Roundup: HomEq Ratings Upgraded by Fitch and S&P.(HomEq Servicing)
November 1, 2002... HomEq Servicing, a subsidiary of Wachovia Corp., has earned upgrades to obtain the highest residential servicer ratings from Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings. S&P raised its ratings on HomEq as a residential subprime loan servicer and...

Roundup: MERS Hits 10 Million Loan Benchmark.(mortgage electronic registration systems; includes multiple articles)
November 1, 2002... The electronic system for tracking ownership of mortgage loans and servicing rights now covers more than 10 million loans. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, informally MERS, announced recently that the average number of daily...

Lenders Rush in to Help Victims of Lili and Other Storms.
November 1, 2002... Hurricane Lili may have lost strength as it hit shore, but it still left many Gulf Coast homeowners facing significant property damage. Lenders active in the Gulf Coast have stepped up efforts to assist consumers who have been affected by...

Mold Issue Drives Home Insurer Out of Texas.(The Farmers Insurance Group)
November 1, 2002... The mold issue has come to a head in Texas, as state regulators and the second largest homeowners insurance underwriter have locked horns over their positions. The result is that The Farmers Insurance Group, Los Angeles, announced it will...

REO & Field Services Special Report.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
November 1, 2002... Hardly a day goes by without some alarming news about the nation's residential and commercial real estate markets. Experts worry that there might be a "bubble" in house prices. Foreclosure and defaults have reached record levels. Vacancy...

LandAmerica Sees Growth Opportunity From Defaults.
November 1, 2002... Here in what might be considered the real estate title industry's world capital, LandAmerica Financial Group has seized an opportunity to add default services to its plate. Like other players in the title industry, LandAmerica sees default...

First American Promotes Exec.(Jill Helmers)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... First American Default Management Solutions has named Jill Helmers as chief of operations. She brings more than 17 years of mortgage industry experience to her new position, including 14 years with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (formerly Norwest...

S&P: Recoveries Strong on Defaults From Securitized Mortgage Portfolios.
November 1, 2002... Defaults of U.S. structured finance securities rated by Standard & Poor's rose significantly from July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002, but they show potential for "remarkably high" recoveries, according to an updated S&P report. Among...

FNAMS Joins Forces with Online REO Firm.(Fidelity National Asset Management Solutions, REO.com Inc.)
November 1, 2002... Fidelity National Asset Management Solutions, a third-party provider of REO outsource services, has announced a strategic technology alliance with REO.com Inc. REO.com is a provider of real estate-related workflow products, foreclosure...

Freddie Data Show No Sign of a Bubble.(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.)
November 1, 2002... Home values increased by an annualized rate of 7.6% during the second quarter of 2002, according to the Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index. This is down slightly from an annualized rate of 7.9% in the first quarter. The index was...

Not So Fast: Foreclosure Halted in Yorba Linda CA.(Washington Mutual Home Loan case)
November 1, 2002... Washington Mutual Home Loans and co-defendants, California Reconveyance Co. and Greg Metcalf, were stopped by Judge James Gray from taking further steps to foreclose on the sale of a home in Yorba Linda, Calif., according to a press release...

Internet Use Keeps Growing For Posting and Selling REO.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... When a home goes to foreclosure sale, servicers hope to attract third-party bidders to maximize recovery on the sale. And the Internet is shaping up to be a key tool for achieving that aim, according to a recent article by Randall Bueter,...

Meeting to Address Problem Debt Issues.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The opportunity to purchase distressed debt at significant discounts has not passed by, according to the organizers of an upcoming conference on the topic. The Strategic Research Institute will hold its 4th annual Distressed Debt...

Roundup: Online Auctions Are Gaining Steam for REO.(real estate)
November 1, 2002... When a servicer acquires a piece of real estate-owned through the foreclosure process, unloading it fast is usually a high priority. After all, these are firms that want to be in the lending business, not the real estate business. So it...

FHA Wants Secondary Market To 'Screen Out' Predatory Loans.(Federal Housing Administration)
November 1, 2002... The Department of Housing and Urban Development is urging Federal Housing Administration lenders to screen loan purchases as a way to spot predatory loans. "If reputable lenders do not buy these bad loans, flippers and fraudulent loan...

HUD Extends Forbearance.(Department of Housing and Urban Development)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The Department of Housing and Urban Development is extending forbearance to Federal Housing Administration borrowers who become temporarily unemployed and risk losing their homes. "The plan I am announcing today will help individuals and...

Advice on Document Retention.
November 1, 2002... The accounting firm of Arthur Andersen learned the hard way what can happen when business records are destroyed. Now, one attorney active in the Real Estate Owned Managers Association of California is warning firms in the REO business to take...

USFN Honors Attorneys; Installs New Board.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... During the USFN's recent member education retreat, the association of mortgage banking attorneys recognized 35 firms with Diamond and Emerald awards, recognizing their commitment to the legal profession, the industry and volunteerism on...

Trott & Trott Gets Legal Eagle Award.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Trott & Trott P.C., here, has been awarded Fannie Mae's "Legal Eagle Award." The law firm is one of only four firms nationwide to receive the award. The lawyers were recognized for the service they have provided to Fannie Mae. ...

Insurer Covers' Political Risk'.(Sovereign Risk Insurance Ltd.'s new risk insurance policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Sovereign Risk Insurance Ltd. has completed a political risk insurance policy that supports a groundbreaking $49.7 million securitization of residential, mortgage-backed bonds in Costa Rica. Standard & Poor's gave the transaction its top...

Lenders Marking Down MSR Portfolios.(Chase Manhattan)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... At midyear, Chase Manhattan Mortgage here valued its $435 billion residential servicing portfolio at $5.68 billion. So what, you may ask, but consider this: Chase's portfolio is now worth almost 20% less than the same period a year...

Servicing People.(new appointments)
November 1, 2002... ALABAMA Birmingham-Collateral Mortgage Capital LLC has announced the appointment of Robert C. Nagel as vice president. Mr. Nagel will be operating out of Collateral's Orlando office. Mr. Nagel brings to Collateral an in-depth working...