Mortgage Servicing News articles from September 2007

Mortgage Servicing News archives from September 2007

AHM Is in Bankruptcy, Other Servicers in Trouble.(American Home Mortgage)
September 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Three midsized servicing firms failed or closed in August and two others were struggling to bolster their cash positions as the nation's nonprime liquidity crisis worsened during the summer. In total, the three that went bust...

August's Casualty List - Ailing And Deceased Mortgage Servicing Firms ( In Billions).
September 1, 2007... Lender Name Servicing Vol. Situation The at 3/31/07 American Home Mort. $50,410 Filed for BK, swamped by margin calls Impac Mortgage (NC) $25,916 Stopped funding alt-A, still...

Online Servicers Score Higher.
September 1, 2007... WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA -- A recent study shows that servicers are engaged in a hit-and-miss relationship with borrowers whose lender satisfaction levels ultimately affect the bottom line. According to the 2007 Primary Mortgage Servicer Study...

Street Firm Offers Guide.(Credit Suisse Group)
September 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS -- With loan servicers facing a possibly unprecedented increase in delinquencies and defaults, Credit Suisse is trying to help servicers better understand what they can and cannot do to manage defaults and limit loss exposure. ...

Investment Opportunities in Subprime?(Report)
September 1, 2007... ST. PAUL, MN -- High default, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates are scaring off subprime market investors. But according to an Advantus Capital Management report, when investors overreact opportunities emerge, mainly in the form of businesses...

Subprime Residential Servicers At June 30, 2007 (Sample) (Dollars In Millions).
September 1, 2007... Servicing Volume % Rank Organization Name Location 6/30/07 6/30/06 Change 1 Chase Home Finance Woodcliff Lake, NJ $81,647 $78,406 4% 2 Homeq Servicing Corp. North Highlands,...

More Seconds Get Downgraded.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Twenty-two classes from 10 second-lien subprime transactions issued in 2007 have been placed on review for possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service. The rating actions affected deals issued by Ace Securities Corp. Home...

Second-Lien Servicing Soars in 1Q07.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- As opposed to residential second-lien lending, which saw flat results in the first quarter, second-lien servicing gained substantially over the same period, based on the top residential second-lien servicers' gains at March 31. ...

Impac Drops '07 Earnings Guidance.(Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... IRVINE, CA -- Impac Mortgage Holdings here, a mortgage REIT, said it will not pay a dividend in the second quarter as the company struggles to cope with higher-than-expected losses on real estate-owned. The company had previously planned to...

SEC Gives Green Light for Loan Mods.
September 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission has given servicers of mortgage-backed securities the green light to restructure or modify subprime loans that are headed for default. The SEC opinion addresses an accounting issue that...

Editorial: Worse than it Seems?(Editorial)
September 1, 2007... Judging by recent earnings reports and economic reports, the depth and duration of the housing downturn may be more severe than most people in the industry have anticipated. In July, that theme came into sharp focus. Countrywide CEO Angelo...

Point of View: The Servicing Impact.
September 1, 2007... Mr. Showalter is senior director of product management at LoanPerformance. This viewpoint is the second of two parts. The first part ran in the August edition of MSN. The impact of borrower and product trends on mortgage servicing is...

An Open Letter to the GSEs: I Love You Guys.
September 1, 2007... Dear Fannie and Freddie, Hi, it's me, Joe Mortgage Banking Co. I know I've been ignoring you the past four years but have I told you lately that I love you? I know this sounds like a strong come-on but after thinking long and hard about...

Prepayment Rates Slowing to Lowest Rate Since Mid-90s: 'This slowdown comes at what should be a seasonal peak in turnover activity (June/July) and before the full effect of the recent backup in mortgage rates.'.
September 1, 2007... Prepayment rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in agency mortgage-backed securities fell 10% in July, and the Bear Stearns Prepayment Commentary has predicted that speeds will slow (on a rate-adjusted basis) to their lowest levels since the...

Countrywide Warns of Higher Credit Costs, Citing 'Piggyback' Loans.
September 1, 2007... CALABASAS, CA -- Countrywide Financial Corporation warned of "continued weakness" in the housing sector, warning investors that subprime credit problems have seeped into its prime home equity business as well. Countrywide said the home...

Is Commercial Getting Caught Up in Credit Downturn?: 'It is this sort of demand for loan product that led to excesses in underwriting.'.
September 1, 2007... In what may be the first hint of trouble for commercial mortgages, it appears as though delinquencies on commercial mortgage-backed securities could be on the upswing, after a period of declining delinquencies. Delinquencies on CMBS in Standard...

Freddie Keeps B&C Pledge, with Tighter Standards.(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.)
September 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Freddie Mac has issued and purchased its first subprime mortgage securitization as part of a $20 billion commitment to Congress to provide liquidity to the subprime market and safer underwriting standards. The $105.6 million...

PMI Identifies Risky Housing Markets.
September 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., a subsidiary of The PMI Group Inc., Walnut Creek, Calif., has released its Summer 2007 U.S. Market Risk Index which ranks the nation's 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas according to the...

Mixed Results for Risk Management.
September 1, 2007... With interest rates rising during the second quarter (the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was about 50 basis points higher on June 30 than on March 31) you would think this might have been the best of times for the people who manage...

U.S. Bancorp's Margins Tighten.
September 1, 2007... MINNEAPOLIS -- U.S. Bancorp said its net income slipped slightly compared with the second quarter of last year, with tighter net interest margins putting pressure on earnings. The bank's net interest margin decreased to 3.44% in the second...

Economist's Outlook for Credit Quality Is Dire.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Mark Zandi, one of the nation's most prominent housing economists, is predicting that mortgage credit quality "will erode measurably" between now and next summer. And if that isn't pessimistic enough, he also says that there is...

HomeBanc Shifts Focus to Servicing Side of Business.
September 1, 2007... ATLANTA -- Back in January of this year, Kevin D. Race was promoted from president to chief executive of HomeBanc Corp. here to oversee the long-troubled company's streamlining of operations. When the promotion of Mr. Race was made,...

Will Aegis Mortgage Sell its Servicing Business?
September 1, 2007... HOUSTON -- Aegis Mortgage Corp. here -- which is controlled by hedge fund giant Cerberus Capital- has placed its servicing platform on the auction block and is winding down its home-equity division, industry sources told Mortgage Servicing News...

GE Sells More Loans; Seeks Buyer for WMC.
September 1, 2007... BURBANK, CA -- WMC Mortgage here sold $3.7 billion in subprime mortgages in the second quarter as its parent, General Electric, prepares to the sell the subprime wholesaler in the next few months. GE executives said they are actively...

Technology Helps Improve Vendor Management and Performance.
September 1, 2007... The rapid increase in REO volume has created problems for REO departments at servicers and outsource management companies. Seldom mentioned are the issues that REO agents also face in scaling to meet the rapid rise in REO volumes, which in some...

DBRS: Subprime Exposure Concentrated Across Six Metro Areas.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- The distribution of recent vintage subprime loans appears to be concentrated across six major metropolitan areas, according to a recent report by credit ratings agency DBRS. In its report, "Analysis of Subprime Loan...

Hudson & Marshall to Auction Nearly 500 Homes in Illinois and Indiana.
September 1, 2007... As the tidal wave of foreclosures continues to saturate the nation's sluggish real estate market with even more inventory, investors and first-time homeowners are discovering real estate auctions offer a pick of deals. Unlike the...

Moody's: Jumbo Delinquencies Rise, Remain Historically Low.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- For the third straight quarter, prime jumbo mortgage delinquency rates rose during the first quarter of 2007, according to a recent report from Moody's. Moody's jumbo mortgage 60-plus-day delinquency rate index stands at 0.37%...

Moody's: Jumbo and Home-Equity Performance Weakens.(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- While everyone keeps wondering how bad the situation in the subprime market really is, data indicate other sectors, namely jumbo and home-equity securities, also showed signs of weakness in May, albeit slightly. According to...

Alt-A Backed Rating Methodology Refined.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Moody's Investors Service has made refinements to its methodology for rating residential mortgage securitizations backed by alternative-A mortgage loans. The rating agency said the revisions address the poor performance of...

Mozilo Turns Bearish on Housing Recovery.
September 1, 2007... CALABASAS, CA -- Few people have profited from the housing finance industry more than Countrywide Chairman Angelo Mozilo. And traditionally, the long-time CEO has struck an optimistic note about market prospects. But recently, Mr. Mozilo...

No Clear End to Subprime Woes, Says Bond Manager: The industry is at the end of 'a 30-year shift to funding through the global capital markets' and away from portfolio lenders.
September 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- Will the mortgage industry's current decline reverse itself by January 2008? MBA chief economist Douglas Duncan predicted it will. PIMCO Senior Vice President Jennifer Bridwell said not. Speaking at the 35th annual Western...

Consumer Groups Call for Foreclosure Help.
September 1, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO -- Under the umbrella of the California Reinvestment Coalition, 150 community and consumer organizations recently called on some of the country's largest mortgage lenders "to declare a temporary moratorium and direct homeowners to...

Huntington Raises Loan Loss Estimate.(Financial report)
September 1, 2007... COLUMBUS, OH -- Huntington Bancshares' second quarter earnings were clipped by a higher loan loss provision and poor mortgage hedging results. The Ohio-based bank earned $80.5 million in the second quarter, down from $111.6 million in the...

Decidedly Downbeat Mood on Real Estate.
September 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS -- Speakers at the California Mortgage Bankers Association's Western States Loan Servicing Conference here were largely pessimistic about the prospects for a quick recovery in home values and loan performance, especially for the...

Call Centers Abroad Become Highly Popular.
September 1, 2007... DALLAS -- Servicers are creating offshore call centers and conducting heavy outsourcing in places like India and Mexico, according to panelists on the loss mitigation panel at the recent SourceMedia Mortgage Servicing Conference here. ...

Downey Lags as Servicing Income Falls.(Financial report)
September 1, 2007... NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- Downey Financial Corp. saw its second-quarter earnings fall 32% from last year's level as lower net interest income, a decline in loan servicing income, an increase in loan-loss provisioning and other factors dragged on the...

Defaults Stress Compliance Needs.
September 1, 2007... DALLAS -- Lenders need to make sure their procedures are in compliance with state foreclosure laws, especially as higher default rates rise across the country, said Roland Reynolds, a partner with Pfeifer & Reynolds LLP, at the recent...

Keychain Program Aims To Prevent Foreclosure.
September 1, 2007... MINNEAPOLIS -- Keychain Alliance is offering assistance to homeowners risking foreclosure due to lack of funds through face-to-face counseling, its HOPE program and partnerships with local organizations that educate borrowers on how to avoid...

Home Equity Deteriorates at JPMorgan Chase.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- JPMorgan Chase reported net earnings-per-share growth of 21% on a year-over-year basis, but weakening housing markets sparked the company to re-evaluate its home-equity lending practices. The company said it added to the reserve...

Fitch Downgrades More Home Loan Securities.(Report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- One hundred fifty classes of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities with outstanding balances totaling $2.4 billion were downgraded by Fitch Ratings on Aug. 1. Fitch also affirmed the ratings on 232 classes with...

Moody's Refines Approach To Pay-Option ARM Product.(adjustable-rate mortgages)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Moody's has refined its approach to analyzing securitizations of payment-option adjustable-rate mortgages. The methodology revisions, stemming from the weaker housing and mortgage markets, also refine the rating agency's credit...

S&P Revises Opinion on Performance of Subprime Loans: 'These changes were made to better cature the deteriorating performance of pools from 2006 and late 2005.'.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Rating agencies have continued to home their assessment of troubled nontraditional mortgage securitization vintages from 2005 and 2006 and related collateralized debt obligations. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has...

Tech to the Rescue.
September 1, 2007... The subprime market crisis has unavoidably affected mortgage technology by creating a growing demand for innovative responses to old problems. Such demand is generating more effective risk assessment and management tools, more accurate credit...

MBA: Education Key To Homeownership.
September 1, 2007... WASHINGTON -- Aiming to teach first-time homebuyers about the mortgage process and help owners preserve long-term homeownership, the Mortgage Bankers Association has enhanced its website with two online financial education tools: "Simple Facts"...

Lending Slowdown Puts Focus on Performance.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- It's not just the mega-servicers that have to worry about squeezing as much value as possible from their mortgage servicing portfolios. Small and mid-sized lenders are paying more attention to their portfolios as well now that...

IMS Sees Growing Need for Property Protection: By door knocking and canvassing neighbors, vendors can help lenders get in touch with borrowers and better assess their desire and ability to maintain ownership of the property.
September 1, 2007... HOUSTON -- Collateral protection and preservation vendor Integrated Mortgage Solutions here has seen business from existing customers grow 25% this year, and given current industry default trends, the company expects even more growth going...

Technology Offers Added Service to Borrowers With Weak Credit: This application is designed to make the originator a virtual credit expert to counsel their borrowers.'.
September 1, 2007... LOS ANGELES, CA -- In order to be a service for lenders and brokers looking to help borrowers out with bad credit, Jamison Law Group, a credit restoration law firm and provider of credit repair services, has launched technology to combine...

SunTrust Goes Paperless with Pyramid Tool: 'We've seen a 40% volume increase. Post closing used to take us 15 days and we've cut that down to just a few days.'.
September 1, 2007... DETROIT -- SunTrust Mortgage wanted to reengineer its business to increase efficiency, standardize processes and handle increased volume. The route they chose was to start at the back-end of the process with post-closing review, and to strive...

Minnesota, Nevada, Alaska Enact Property, Broker Licensing and Lending Rules.
September 1, 2007... Saint Paul, MN -- In other state legal news, Minnesota lawmakers have enacted legislation effective Aug. 1, which among other things increases the homestead exemption from $200,000 to $300,000. If the land is used primarily for agricultural...

MDMC Expands Business Presence in Las Vegas.
September 1, 2007... SUSSEX, WI -- Mortgage Data Management Corporation (MDMC), a mortgage loan analysis firm that provides due diligence and agency delivery services, has opened a new location in Las Vegas. The company reviews a variety of mortgage loans,...

Regions Sees Servicing Gain.
September 1, 2007... BIRMINGHAM, AL -- Regions Financial here recouped $38 million in servicing rights value during the second quarter, benefiting from long-term interest rate trends. Moreover, the company said that its 2006 merger with AmSouth has achieved...

Bear Execs Resign in Wake of Fund Troubles.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- Bear Stearns co-president and co-chief operating officer Warren Spector resigned Aug. 5 in the wake of a costly collapse of two Bear-sponsored hedge funds that invested in risky subprime-related assets. The two funds -- once...

C-BASS Hit, Owners Take $1B in WDs.
September 1, 2007... NEW YORK -- C-BASS LLC here, which controls the nation's 10th largest subprime servicer, was the subject of margin calls in August, forcing its two mortgage insurance company owners to write down its value by more than $1 billion. ...

Clayton Holdings Turns to Loss.(Financial report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... SHELTON, CT -- Clayton Holdings, a provider of analytics, consulting and outsourced services for capital market firms, lending institutions, fixed-income investors and loan servicers, reported a net loss despite posting $500,000 in earnings...

LSSI Renews Six New Customers.(Merrimack Mortgage Co.; Sussman Lending Group; Neighborhood Housing Services )(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... POWAY, CA -- LSSI, a provider of electronic mortgage lending and servicing software, has sealed deals to upgrade its technology with Merrimack Mortgage Co., Manchester, N.H.; Neighborworks of Western Vermont, West Rutland, Vt.; Neighborhood...

Website Targets Countrywide Loans.(Website overview)
September 1, 2007... CALABASAS, CA -- Countrywide Financial Corp. here is being targeted by a New York-based labor union, Unite Here, through a new website, www.eyeoncountrywide.info. Kim Jackson of Unite Here said the organization looks to bring service...

Servicing People.
September 1, 2007... CALIFORNIA Santa Ana-The First American Corp. has named George Grupp chief financial officer of the company's specialty insurance segment. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing the segment's financial reporting,...