Mortgage Servicing News articles from October 2006

Mortgage Servicing News archives from October 2006

ECC, Others Heading for the Exit?(ECC Capital Corp.)
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The exit ramp from the mortgage business is getting a bit crowded these days with two more nonconforming servicers headed for the auction block. Industry sources say the money-losing ECC Capital Corp., Irvine, Calif., has...

Mortgage Firms & Servicing Portfolios for Sale - A Scorecard.(Brief article)(List)
October 1, 2006... (Dollars in Millions) Mortgage Firm Servicing Rights Status of Buyer Name Involved Sale Name Golden West/World $123,008 pending Wachovia North...

FBR: B&C Defaults May Fall.(Friedman Billings Ramsey - Michael Youngblood )
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Despite jitters about the housing market and resets of adjustable-rate mortgages, researchers at one securities firm are bravely forecasting a slight decline in the default rates for subprime mortgages by midyear 2007. ...

Top Subprime Servicers at 6/30/06.(HSBC Mortgage Corp. USA)(HomEq Servicing Corp.)(Ocwen Financial Corp.)(Statistical data)
October 1, 2006... (Dollars in Millions) Total Servicing Vol. % Market Rank Organization Name Location 6/30/06 6/30/05 Change Share 1 Countrywide Calabasas, CA ...

Merrill Buys 11th Largest B&C Servicer.
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- In a deal that will make it the second largest Wall Street servicer of subprime loans, Merrill Lynch & Co., has agreed to buy National City Home Loans Services and two affiliates for a $1.3 billion. Based in Pittsburgh, NCHLS...

IXIS Bidding on NetBank Portfolio.(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- IXIS/CDC Real Estate Capital here is said to be the leading bidder for NetBank's $15.4 billion servicing portfolio. As Mortgage Servicing News went to press this month, the sale was pending and IXIS officials could not be...

Do Credit Scores Mislead Lenders?
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- Lenders have often touted high credit scores as an indication that increasingly risky loan products are not being handed out indiscriminately, but one analyst at an independent research firm here says those credit scores may not be...

Stanford Kurland.(chief operating officer and president of Countrywide Financial Corp. to resign)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Mr. Kurland, president and chief operating officer of Countrywide Financial Corporation, is stepping down and will be replaced by David Sambol, currently an executive managing director at the company. Countrywide gave no reason for Mr....

Countrywide Close on Wells' Heels.(Wells Fargo & Co.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... CALABASAS, CA -- Wells Fargo leapfrogged to the top of the servicing charts with its purchase of servicing rights on $140 billion of home loans from Washington Mutual, but Countrywide isn't far behind, according to the company's July...

Chase Home CEO Goes to Lehman.(Tom Wind appointed at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... ISELIN, NJ -- Tom Wind, CEO of Chase Home Finance here, has left the company to take a position with Lehman Brothers, industry sources confirmed to Mortgage Servicing News. A source close to Mr. Wind told MSN that the former CHF CEO will...

Goldman Sachs Veterans Eye Default Management.(appointment of Richard Wilkes in advisory board of Virgo Capital)
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- An investment fund managed by two former Goldman Sachs executives is in the hunt for default-management-related companies and has raised $50 million to make acquisitions. Virgo Capital of Austin, Texas, which manages the Virgo...

Wendover to Exit Subservicing Biz.(Wendover Financial Services to shut down its headquarters)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... GREENSBORO, NC -- Wendover Financial Services is exiting the residential subservicing arena and will close its headquarters here, Mortgage Servicing News has learned. A spokeswoman for the parent company, Electronic Data Systems of Plano,...

Editorial: The Backside of Homeownership.(Editorial)
October 1, 2006... Amazingly, the performance of home loans has remained historically strong despite the proliferation of new and sometimes risky mortgage products. But there are some cracks showing up in industry data, and lenders need to prepare for an increase...

Point of View: Bankruptcy's Automatic Stay: Ms. Kuhn is an attorney in the Nashville, Tenn. office of Wilson & Associates, an Arkansas-based firm that represents mortgage lenders.
October 1, 2006... The automatic stay provision of the bankruptcy code is one of the most powerful legal tools invented. Not only does it stop any collection efforts or any new liens against an estate, it stops any civil procedure that could subject the debtor to...

Is Wall Street Delirious with Subprime Fever?(Merrill Lynch and Company Inc purchases First Franklin Financial Corp)
October 1, 2006... By now it's old news that Merrill Lynch is coughing up $1.3 billion for subprime giant First Franklin Financial Corp. and two affiliates. In total, about five Street firms were vying for FFFC with Goldman and Deutsche considered to be the...

Long Month Boosts Prepayment Rates: Leverage will be the key to a borrower's prepayment behavior.
October 1, 2006... Prepayment rates on the collateral in agency mortgage-backed securities rose nearly 8% across the coupon stack in August, but the speedup was probably just an artifact of a longer reporting period, according to Bear Stearns. The August...

Banks Are Still Keen On Mortgage Investments: 'It is something to keep an eye on ... (but) nothing dramatic.'.
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Banks and thrifts increased their investments in mortgage loans and securities in the second quarter, while construction lending remained brisk, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. FDIC-insured institutions...

Offshoring Evolves as Cost of Overseas Talent Rises: Fears about outsourcing have diminished.
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- The third wave of mortgage offshoring appears to have transformed the business into something unlike what it originally was in some striking ways. Perhaps most notably: Although it continues to be known primarily for its...

Rate Forecast Calls for Cautious Optimism: Core inflation 'is likely above' the Fed's target range.
October 1, 2006... For portfolio managers, the present economic environment is a lot more reassuring than the meltdown in mortgage rates that generated huge volumes of refinancing between 2002 and 2004. But that doesn't mean people responsible for hedging...

ARM Adjustments Put Focus on Portfolio Retention.(adjustable rate mortgages)
October 1, 2006... JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Keeping adjustable-rate mortgage clients is a big concern as resets will cause their payments to balloon and possibly result in increased foreclosures. The smart application of technology can help ease borrower fallout. ...

S.D. Bank Acquires Servicing Rights from Great Western.(HF Financial Corp.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... SIOUX FALLS, SD -- HF Financial Corp. here has agreed to buy the rights to service mortgages held by the South Dakota Housing Development Authority and Fannie Mae from Great Western Bank. In addition, HF Financial, parent of Home Federal...

Horizon to Sell Its MSR Portfolio.(Horizon Bancorporation Inc. )(Indiana Bank and Trust Co.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... MICHIGAN CITY, IN -- Horizon Bancorp here said it has entered into an agreement to sell its mortgage servicing rights in a deal scheduled to close before the end of this quarter. Horizon Bank said the MSR portfolio has a book value of...

Financial Freedom Gets Reverse Rating.
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings has assigned an "RPS3+" residential primary servicer rating to Financial Freedom as a servicer of reverse mortgage loans. Fitch said the rating is based on Financial Freedom's recognized expertise in servicing reverse...

LandAmerica Grows Mortgage Outsourcing Business.
October 1, 2006... RICHMOND, VA -- LandAmerica Financial Services here, a title insurance firm and provider of services to the mortgage industry, saw a modest rise in net income during the second quarter, despite a modest decline in revenue and earnings from its...

Moody's: Regions Is Deemed Stable.(Regions Financial Corp.)(AmSouth Bancorporation )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- Regions Financial Corp. and AmSouth Bancorporation are pursuing a merger that will create a top 10 bank holding company under the Regions Financial name. Rating agency Moody's Investors Service said the merger is not likely to...

Mortgage Insurers Worried by Piggy-Backs, 'Risky' Loans.
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Mortgage insurers are concerned that regulators are not acting quickly enough to put the brakes on risky nontraditional loans, particularly payment-option mortgages with "piggy back" second liens. The Mortgage Insurance...

Old Republic Launches National Default Services Division.(Old Republic National Title Insurance Co.)(National Default Services Division)
October 1, 2006... MINNEAPOLIS -- In response to the expected increase in the need for default services, Old Republic National Title Insurance Co. has created its National Default Services Division. The new division will operate under the purview of the company's...

First American Field Services Moves to Texas.(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... DALLAS -- First American Field Services, a provider of onsite property inspections and property integrity solutions, has completed its move from Sterling, Va., to a new corporate campus in Westlake, Texas. First American said the office...

Option One Anticipates Higher Mortgage Losses.
October 1, 2006... KANSAS CITY, MO -- H&R Block Inc. here expects to record a $102.1 million provision for losses in the current quarter related to its subsidiary, Option One Mortgage Corp. The company's stock price dropped from trading to levels just above...

Nonprime Lending Trade Group Merges with MBA.(Mortgage Bankers Association )(National Home Equity Mortgage Association )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Citing the blurred distinction between prime and subprime lending as well as the large overlap in their memberships, the boards of the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Home Equity Mortgage Association have agreed to...

S&P Says Subprime Credit Scores Drop.(Standard & Poor's)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- The average FICO score on subprime deals rated by Standard & Poor's in the second quarter declined to 623, the lowest average credit score reported since the fourth quarter of 2004. S&P said the drop reflects a shift from...

SPS's SQ Ratings Affirmed by Moody's.(Select Portfolio Servicing )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- Moody's has affirmed the primary and special servicer ratings of Select Portfolio Servicing at a rating of "SQ2-." Moody's said the servicer quality ratings reflect average collection abilities, above-average loss mitigation...

Consumer Groups Worried by ARM Payment Adjustments.(use of adjustable rate mortgages leads to concept of suitability)
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The increasing use of adjustable-rate mortgage products is leading consumer advocates to consider the concept of suitability as a way to hold lenders accountable and to secure redress for borrowers that are harmed. "The...

Title Insurers See Small Decline in Capital Strength: Fitch expects expense leverage to decline in 2006.
October 1, 2006... CHICAGO -- The risk-adjusted capital position of the nation's title insurers, while still showing the industry as well capitalized, declined slightly between year-end 2004 and year-end 2005, a study conducted by Fitch Ratings here shows. But,...

Property Insurance Is Costly, Scarce in Gulf.
October 1, 2006... A year after major storms hit the Gulf Coast, one significant fallout for the commercial real estate sector is an increase in the cost and a decrease in the availability of windstorm insurance. The total insured losses on Hurricanes Katrina,...

CRE Loan Pricing Fails to Reflect Land Valuations.(commercial real estate loans )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- The pricing premiums paid by buyers of commercial real estate loans often fail to reflect the "enormous range in the change in values" of the underlying real estate markets, according to Moody's Investors Service. Instead,...

CRE Finance Keeps Growing.(commercial real estate)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... NEW YORK -- The share of commercial mortgage debt in U.S. gross domestic product reached 15.8% in the fourth quarter of 2005, the highest level since the record of 15% set in 1988 at the peak of the last real estate cycle, Moody's Investors...

Recruiting And Training.(mortgage professionals)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Recruiting and training of mortgage professionals has never been both easier and more difficult. It is easier to access information, but on the other hand the amount of information and knowledge necessary to be successful in the marketplace...

MTI Training For Maryland.(Mortgage Training Institute)
October 1, 2006... DENVER -- Mortgage Training Institute will be conducting education for Maryland's new requirement that all mortgage originators with less than three years experience take an approved 40-hour training course. The Maryland Office of...

MBA to Provide CRIS Examination Guide: The CRIS mission, according to the MBA, is to 'recognize ethics-based competency in the real estate industry.'(contract between Mortgage Bankers Association and Chartered Realty Investor Society)
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The Mortgage Bankers Association has entered into an arrangement with the Chartered Realty Investor Society, an independent organization that develops a professional designation for the commercial real estate industry, whereby the...

K&G Merges with Recruiter.
October 1, 2006... LAWRENCEVILLE, GA -- K&G Recruiting LLC, a national mortgage industry recruiting firm, has merged with Asset Recruiting LLC. The company said the move strengthens its management team and Western U.S. presence. As part of the merger,...

Firm Believes in Very Selective Recruiting.(Atare Agbamu- ThinkReverse)
October 1, 2006... OAKDALE, MN -- Recruiting and training of reverse mortgage professionals should be "very, very selective," according to Atare Agbamu, owner of consulting company ThinkReverse, Oakdale, Minn. Reverse mortgages are a different animal in the...

Industry Changes Challenge New Hirings.(Ron Vaimberg-Ron Vaimberg International)
October 1, 2006... TARRYTOWN, NY -- Hiring has become more challenging in today's market environment, according to Ron Vaimberg, president of Ron Vaimberg International here. But understanding the challenges is where "great opportunity" lies, he said. ...

First American Earns ISO 9001:2000 Certification.
October 1, 2006... DALLAS -- First American Tax Service has achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification from the International Organization for Standards. The certification was awarded following an audit of the company's quality system by BSI, a quality management...

GMAC Continues to Build Subservicing Volume.
October 1, 2006... WATERLOO, IA -- With loan origination volumes tapering off and a plethora of new products gaining in popularity both among lenders and consumers, the subservicing industry is adapting to a new marketplace. And GMAC Mortgage, one of the...

Top 5 Servicers Near 50%.(Countrywide Home Loans)(Wells Fargo Home Mortgage)(Chase Home Finance)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The grinding wheel of servicing consolidation continued unabated in the second quarter with nation's top five residential firms increasing their market share to 48.7%. According to exclusive survey figures compiled by Mortgage...

Top Residential Servicers at 6/30/06.(List)
October 1, 2006... (Dollars in Millions) Servicing Volume % Market Mkt Shr Rk Organization Name 6/30/06 6/30/05 Change Share % pt. +/- 1 Countrywide Financial Corp. $1,196,720...

Servicing People.(Capital Trust Inc.- Thomas C. Ruffing )(Lenders First Choice - Jim Brady )(The First American Corp.- Christopher Del Moral-Niles )
October 1, 2006... CALIFORNIA Simi Valley-Lenders First Choice has added Jim Brady as senior vice president of national title operations. In this position, he manages the title operations function for the company. Prior to joining LFC, Mr. Brady served...