Mortgage Servicing News articles from November 2003

Mortgage Servicing News archives from November 2003

RBC Won't Keep Sterling's Servicing.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The acquisition-hungry RBC Mortgage Co., Chicago, has acquired Sterling Capital Mortgage Co. here and its servicing platform - but not the company's receivables. A spokesman for SCMC's bank parent told Mortgage Servicing News that...

HSBC and RBC Servicing vol. at 9-30-03.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Firm Servicing Volume Rank RBC $9.36 billion 51st HSBC $46.25 billion 17th Source: MSN-Quarterly Data Report Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com...

UGC and IMARC Offer Fraud Recovery.
November 1, 2003... United Guaranty Corp. here has entered into an alliance with Investors Mortgage Asset Recovery Co. LLC, Newport Beach, Calif., to market its fraud-related loss recovery services. According to Len Sweeney, senior vice president, strategic...

FTC Considers Best Practices?
November 1, 2003... The Federal Trade Commission will issue "a very significant consent decree" before year-end that establishes a best-practices standard for servicers of subprime loans, according to one industry attorney. "Loan servicing is becoming a...

Sale Soon For GMAC Commercial?(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... GMAC Commercial Mortgage, the nation's largest commercial servicer, is about to be sold. As for the identity of the buyer, well, that's a different matter. As Mortgage Servicing News went to press this month, industry sources identified GE...

Servicing Cost Per Loan (Annualized) at June 30, 2003.
November 1, 2003... (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name Location 1 CDC Mortgage Capital, Inc. New York, NY 2 Charter One Bank Cleveland, OH 3 Homestar Mortgage Services Paramus,...

Lower Jumbo Servicing Fee May Not Be a Sign of Things to Come.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Fitch Ratings has lowered its minimum servicing fee requirements for fixed-rate, prime credit quality jumbo mortgage loans that are pooled into securities to 20 basis points from a previous minimum of 25 basis points. But don't expect the...

Ameriquest Strives For 'Best Practices'.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Ameriquest Mortgage Co. is embarking upon a "best practice" initiative for both loan servicing and loan origination. Ameriquest's initiative to set voluntary standards for ethical lending practices support the company's goal to make credit...

WaMu Shake-Up Puts Focus on Cross-Sales and Operations.
November 1, 2003... Two top mortgage executives of Washington Mutual are out of work after the lending giant decided to realign the way it conducts business. Departing WaMu is Craig Davis, president of the thrift's home loans and insurance division, and Eric...

Refi Bust Has a Dark Side.
November 1, 2003... With interest rates expected to rise next year (bearing in mind that this was the consensus expectation at the end of 2001 and 2002 as well), servicing managers are pleased to anticipate that portfolio churning and writedowns may be coming to...

An Obligation To Strengthen Oversight.(Excerpt)
November 1, 2003... Mr. Martinez, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, recently testified before a congressional panel considering changes to the oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. This viewpoint is...

The Next Crisis for Servicers - Dealing with Screw-Ups.
November 1, 2003... The refi boom of the past two years has been manna from heaven for residential lenders. Many a mortgage banker and broker have been originating loans hand-over-fist, raking in fees and making a darn good living. All the rumors you've been...

Prepayment Speeds Fall Less Rapidly than Expected in September.
November 1, 2003... Prepayment rates slowed "far less than expected" for seasoned 6.0%-7.0% agency mortgage-backed securities in the September reporting period, according to the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary. Analysts Dale Westhoff and Bruce Kramer said...

First American Integrates Transamerica Tax and Flood.
November 1, 2003... In a move underlining its initiative to offer bundled services to the mortgage industry, First American Corp. announced completion of its acquisition of Transamerica's real estate tax service and flood hazard certification businesses. The...

Transamerica Offers Early RE Tax Service.
November 1, 2003... Transamerica Real Estate Tax Service has introduced a new "Early Procurement Service" to generate tax amounts at least three days before a sale or transfer of a pool of loans, the company announced. For participating lenders, Transamerica...

Lenders Concerned about FCRA.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The Senate Banking Committee last month approved by voice vote a bill that would permanently extend the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but potentially cause some problems for mortgage lenders. The financial services industry backs a permanent...

MIs Riled Up by Amendment.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Mortgage insurance companies could lose a ton of business if an amendment proposed by Fannie Mae becomes law, MI sources told Mortgage Servicing News. According to a draft of possible amendments on pending legislation to restructure...

Consultant: Some Credit Repair Shops Can Damage Loan Prospects.
November 1, 2003... Lenders often try to help borrowers clean up their credit issues to boost their all-important credit scores. But they could be doing their clients a grave disservice if they send them to so-called credit repair specialists. Such...

OFHEO Promotes Freddie Watchdog.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight has promoted Stephen A. Blumenthal - the man heading its Freddie Mac investigation - to acting deputy director of the agency. Mr. Blumenthal serves as counsel to OFHEO director Armando...

NV Law Won't Assign Liability.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A new predatory lending law went into effect in Nevada on Oct. 1, several days after Standard & Poor's said that it will continue to rate structured finance transactions governed by the act. The law pleased both consumer groups and industry...

GSEs Face Questions about Impact of Hedging Moves.
November 1, 2003... They are highly regarded by Wall Street rating agencies and stock analysts. They have consistently produced double-digit earnings growth. And so far, neither Fannie Mae nor Freddie Mac has ever cost the taxpayers a dime in the form of a...

New MindBox Call Center System Helps Guide Resolution Efforts.
November 1, 2003... MindBox has released Interactive Customer Account Manager. The intelligent system is designed for corporate call centers and servicing centers, and consists of software and services frameworks that are used to deploy a call center application...

Del Mar Names New COO and CTO Execs.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Del Mar Database, a mortgage technology firm here, has appointed John Walsh president and chief operating officer and Doug Clawson chief technology officer. Mr. Walsh most recently served as president of RF-Spectrum Decision Science Corp....

Loan Protector Augments Service with Tracking Control.
November 1, 2003... Like many vendors, Loan Protector Insurance Services here will be showcasing new offerings during the Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention in San Diego. LP (www.loanprotector.com) has developed a new service called Electronic...

AccuPost Technology Helps Relieve Pressure on Post-Closing.
November 1, 2003... AccuPost PCS, a provider of post-closing technology and outsource services, is rolling out a new enterprise software solution designed to help mortgage lenders better manage post-closing activities on their loans. The company, which is...

9-11 Still Has Impact on New York's CRE Market.
November 1, 2003... Two different litigation situations involving servicers on sticky wickets, brought about by post-9-11 developments, are moving along, with one having been resolved. Litigation involving terrorism insurance, or the lack of it, on Four Times...

CIGNA Affirmed As 'Above Average'.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... CIGNA Investments has been affirmed as an "above average" commercial mortgage special servicer by rating agency Standard & Poor's. S&P said the affirmation is based on the company's "solid and highly tenured management team, fully...

Aimco Moves Into NY Homes.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Apartment Investment and Management Co. has entered the Manhattan multifamily market with the purchase of five five-story properties for a total price of $37.5 million. The properties, located on Columbus Avenue between West 68th and 69th...

Canadian Insurer Buys Top 20 Commercial Mortgage Servicer in U.S.
November 1, 2003... Boston-John Hancock Financial Services, the parent of John Hancock Real Estate Investment Group, is being acquired by Manulife Financial Corp. of Canada in an $11 billion transaction (Canadian $15 billion). The group is a major commercial...

S&P Adds CMBS Pricing to Conquest.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Standard & Poor's is including commercial mortgage-backed securities pricing to its Conquest technology. The financial information services company said that they will provide evaluations "that are directly related to market activity for...

Low Rates Help Commercial Mortgage Securities Market Rebound in 2003.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Issuance of commercial mortgage-backed securities for 2003 could touch $72 billion, according to Moody's Investors Service, making 2003 the second or third highest year ever for domestic CMBS issuance. Speaking at a Moody's CMBS conference,...

REITS Want Out of Cold Storage.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Crescent Real Estate, Fort Worth, Texas, and Vornado Realty Trust, New York, are looking to disentangle themselves from AmeriCold Logistics, a provider of cold storage and transportation facilities. The two real estate investment trusts are...

Top Commercial Servicers at March 31, 2003.
November 1, 2003... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Company Location 1 GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. Horsham, PA 2 Midland Loan Services/PNC RE Finance Overland Park, KS ...

REO & Field Services.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... As evidence piles up that the economy is finally getting on track, we can stop worrying about foreclosure and REO problems, right? Wrong. Most people in the mortgage servicing industry probably got the right answer to that question ven as...

SIRs Represents Independent Contractors.
November 1, 2003... A few years ago, a group of field service and inspection personnel decided that too often, work in the field wasn't being done properly. So they decided to do something about it amely, they formed a group to help represent and educate...

JVI Signs Deal to Use FNC Valuation Service.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Just Valuations Inc., has signed a deal to use FNC's collateral management system, saying the technology will streamline JVI's residential and commercial appraisal and property inspection procurement and processing. FNC's CMS is a decision...

USFN Publishes New Resources.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The USFN has issued three new industry resources to assist mortgage servicers and their attorneys. The new resources are a "Foreclosure Timeline Matrix," the 20th edition of the "National Mortgage Servicer's Reference Directory" and a...

ASC Deal Downgraded by Fitch.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Two classes of Asset Securitization Corp.'s commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 1996-D3, have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrades were as follows: class B-2, from B to CCC; and class B-3, from CCC to C. In...

London Bridge Signs Up a Big REO Client.
November 1, 2003... London Bridge Group's mortgage banking unit, based in Atlanta, has added functionality to several products that will be highlighted at the company's exhibit hall display at this year's convention. And coming off a massive, three-year...

Survey Sees Improvement.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The National Association of Credit Management says its credit managers index for September suggests that the economy is strengthening. Based on the association's survey of credit management professionals, the index's reading was at its...

Merit Deal Hit by MH.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Five classes of senior and subordinate certificates of the Merit Securities Corp. Series 13 manufactured housing securitization are being reviewed for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The affected securities are classes A3,...

Gehlke: REO Industry Needs To Adapt to Changing Times.
November 1, 2003... One thing the mortgage servicing industry learned in the wake of the Y2K computing conversion crisis is that it is possible to overhaul systems. And as a result, servicers are engaged in more benchmarking of the vendors with whom they do...

Forum Addresses Distressed Debt.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Investing in distressed debt, either directly or through specialized funds, has given investors returns in the midteens, according to the Strategic Research Institute. As a result, the market is attracting more attention from institutional...

Roundup: Real Estate Deal Aimed at New York's Distressed Market.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Vision Real Estate Management and Development has closed its merger with Future Capital Investments, a deal Vision says will position the firm "to be a force in the distressed real estate market in upstate New York." In June, the company...

IndyMac Selects Technology.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... First American Default Technologies has been chosen by IndyMac as its foreclosure and bankruptcy process outsource provider. Under this relationship, First American said it will provide default-related services to IndyMac and its national...

Counseling Added BITB.(MSTD Inc's BackInTheBlack platform)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... MSTD, creator of the BackInTheBlack Web-based collections and loss mitigation platform, has integrated consumer credit counseling services into its functionality. Mortgage servicers using BITB may now set selection parameters, such as...

AllRegs Adds 12 Clients.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... AllRegs, a publisher of online reference information for the mortgage industry, said that 12 firms recently deployed the company's product throughout their organizations. Those organizations are Citicorp Mortgage, Com Unity Lending, GE...

Manufactured Housing Problems.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The ratings on nine classes from two manufactured housing transactions linked to Conseco Finance Corp. have been lowered by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and removed from CreditWatch with negative implications. S&P attributed the...

LD Clause Can Strengthen Contract.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... When a prospective homebuyer defaults on a purchase contract, there can be substantial financial harm to the seller. A concept called "liquidated damages" attempts to quantify the amount of damage for lenders or other sellers seeking...

Berry Joins Weltman As Foreclosure Exec.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The creditors' rights law firm of Weltman, Weinberg & Reis here has named Carol Berry as a corporate foreclosure manager. The law firm says the appointment represents continued growth for the firm, which is ranked as the largest creditors'...

Delinquency Rates - Based on Total Past Dues at June 30, 2003.
November 1, 2003... (Based on Number of Loans Serviced) (part 1 of 2) Number of Rank Organization Name, Location Loans Serviced 1 Washington Federal Savings,...

Exceptions Cloud 'Cram Down' Rules.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Attorneys Marc Ben-Ezra and Asher Perlin say that while home mortgage lenders benefit from favorable treatment under the bankruptcy code, they must watch out for exceptions that might allow bankrupt debtors to reduce the size of their mortgage...

Commerce Bancshares Reports Rise in REO on its Books.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... While Commerce Bancshares reported higher earnings in the third quarter, the company also reported that problem assets rose from the second-quarter level. Specifically, real estate-owned increased to $2 million from $1.8 million three...

Commerce's Problem Assets Rose in the Third Quarter.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Category 6-30-03 9-30-03 Non-Accrual Loans $30 mm $32.4 mm Foreclosed Realty $1.8 mm $2 mm Total nonperforming $32.3mm $34.4 mm Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved....

Delinquencies Based on Unpaid Principal Balance at June 30, 2003.
November 1, 2003... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Servicing Rank Organization Name, Location Volume 1 First Republic Bank, San Francisco, CA ...

S.C. Law Firm Named Designated Counsel.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Rogers Townsend & Thomas here, a law firm specializing in default services, real estate and litigation, has been named a designated counsel for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in South Carolina. The firm said it is the only one in the...

Default Risk on Non-Conforming Loans Keeps Rising.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The risk of default on newly originated, nonprime credit quality mortgage loans rose slightly this summer, according to a quarterly analysis done by University Financial Associates. The firm's Default Risk Index for the summer of 2003 rose to...

Flooding Adds To Mold Threat.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Flood damage from Hurricane Isabel could top $1 billion, much of which is uninsured. But much more damage to property values could be inflicted by mold created by water damage related to the storm, according to Kathi Giaramita, a water damage...

AMCO Launches eView Product.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based Appraisal Management Co., specialist in appraisal management and developers of the eValu hybrid collateral valuation product, has launched a new product it calls eView. The new offering pairs a USPAP-compliant...

Subprime Delinquency Rates at June 30, 2003.
November 1, 2003... (based on the number of loans serviced) (part 1 of 2) Servicing # Rank Organization Name, Location of Loans 1 Fairbanks Capital Corp., Salt...

Two MI Firms Cutting Back On Captive Reinsurance Deals.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Two more mortgage insurance companies are cutting back on captive reinsurance arrangements where they share premium revenue with their lender-customers. The MIs cutting back on captives are GE Mortgage Insurance, Raleigh, N.C., and United...

Title Insurers See Higher Claims.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The American Land Title Association announced gross revenue for the title industry for the first six months of this year was $7.49 billion. That is 36.5% ahead of the same timeframe in 2002, which was a record year for the industry despite...

Website Helps Collect Old Debts.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Organizations that want to pursue delinquent accounts without handing over a portion of the proceeds can now turn to OldDebts.com, an online debt collection service that eliminates the need to pay contingency fees to a traditional collection...

Private Mortgage Insurers Ranked by No. Policies Written in Q2 2003.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name Location 1 Mortgage Guaranty Ins. Milwaukee, WI 2 PMI Group San Francisco, CA 3 Radian Guaranty, Inc. ...

Private Mortgage Insurers Ranked by Bulk Ins. Written in Q2 2003.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Rank Organization Name Location 1 Radian Guaranty, Inc. Philadelphia, PA 2 PMI Group San Francisco, CA 3 Mortgage Guaranty Ins....

Rating Agency Downgrades Debt Status of Two Mortgage Insurers.
November 1, 2003... Fitch Ratings here has downgraded the debt ratings on two publicly traded private mortgage insurers - MGIC Investment Corp., Milwaukee, and The Radian Group, Philadelphia. Fitch did not take any action on either company's insurer financial...

GEMICO Gives Up Triple-A Rating.
November 1, 2003... GE Capital Mortgage Insurance Corp. here has decided voluntarily to move from being an "AAA" rated mortgage insurer to an "AA" rated one. Most of its competitors have an "AA" rating. Only United Guaranty Residential Insurance Corp.,...

Oak Street Adds Debt Recovery.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Oak Street Mortgage here has a joint venture with Hudson & Keyse, a retail-commercial debt recovery service. "Consistent with Oak Street's diversification strategy, we have been actively seeking opportunities to invest growth capital in...

Do Not Call List Back on Track.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A Federal Appeals Court lifted a stay on enforcement of the do-not-call rule last week and the Federal Trade Commission said last week that it is ready to go after telemarketers who violate the rule. "Along with the Federal Communications...

Consumer Group Upset by Fairbanks.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Consumer advocates here who have been working with Fairbanks Capital Corp. claim that the mortgage servicer has gone back on an agreement it made with them. The National People's Action, a nationwide coalition of community organizations,...

U.S. MBS Outperform Overseas Peers.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Outside of the troubled manufactured housing sector, the credit performance of mortgage-related securities in the United States has been relatively good compared to corporate credit performance both within this country and globally, the...

GMAC Appoints Two Executives.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... GMAC Mortgage Corp. has named Michael Squillante vice president of customer operations and Frank Madden director of quality assurance. Both appointments occurred in the company's fast-growing servicing operation, known as National Loan...

Safeco to Spin Off Life Unit.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... In a bid to focus all of its attention on property and casualty insurance, Safeco said last week that it intends to sell its Life & Investments unit. Safeco also said it hopes to reduce expenses by $75 million by the end of 2004, saying...

Safeco FIS Opens Tustin CA Office.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Safeco Financial Institution Solutions, a specialist in lender-placed hazard insurance outsourcing, tracking and processing for mortgage lenders and servicers, has opened a new operations facility in Tustin, Calif. The new facility is...

Data-Vision Rolls Out New Disclosure Documents.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Data-Vision Inc., a provider of electronic document delivery services, has introduced consumer-friendly document services. DisclosureDocs from Data-Vision is an online system that allows mortgage applications and their initial disclosure...

Servicing People.
November 1, 2003... CALIFORNIA Santa Ana-First American Title Insurance Co. has named Robert Schott regional vice president for Southern California. Mr. Schott will oversee title operations for Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San...