The federal government should move forbearance to the front of the loss-mitigation waterfall, researchers at the Urban Institute proposed. A similar policy during the pandemic did more good than harm, they found.
The market for MSRs is now divided between portfolios with loans originated prior to 2022 and portfolios with loans that have prevailing interest rates, prompting some shifts in practices among servicers and investors.
Commenters said the challenges that servicers face in responding to COVID-related loss-mitigation programs argue against a rush by VA to implement its servicer tier rankings.
Wells Fargo is in the process of changing where residential loans fit into the bank’s overall business. The company’s CEO cited GSE mortgages as a product that presents risk to the bank.
The rapid increase in interest rates seen in the first quarter took a big bite out of income from production and helped to goose servicing earnings. And while a downturn in originations was expected this year, it could be worse than expected.
The ratio measuring the fair value of banks’ mortgage servicing rights compared with their servicing for others hit a post-2008 high as of the end of March thanks to the spike in interest rates.
According to new research paper, nonbanks use their MSRs to help fund operations in a rising rate environment, resulting in stronger originations in comparison to banks.
Altisource setting up alternative lending operations; Reverse Mortgage Funding offers non-agency MBS with proprietary reverse mortgages; Dovenmuehle assessed as “above average” by Moody’s.
The SEC has a proposed rule that would mandate climate-related disclosures. The Federal Housing Finance Agency and federal banking regulators are also incorporating climate-change assessments.
Trends varied among the largest servicers of jumbo mortgages in the first quarter. Portfolios increased overall while the top two jumbo servicers reduced their portfolios. (Includes data chart.)