It’s been several years since a top-10 ranked lender changed hands, but it could happen this year with speculation falling on PHH Mortgage and Flagstar Bancorp. Both firms own large servicing portfolios but have sold servicing “strips” while retaining a subservicing relationship with the consumer. Investment banking sources and competitors familiar with the two say a sale of either is...
Amid growing calls by lawmakers and policy advocates to divert some of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s increasing profitability to an affordable housing commitment, industry observers speculate that new Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt is seriously inclined to act that way. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 requires the government-sponsored enterprises to make annual contributions to the National Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund. Fannie and Freddie were put in government conservatorship before they ever made any contribution. Late last week, more than 30 Senate Democrats told...
The Senate was scheduled to vote late this week on legislation that would delay excessive increases in flood-insurance premiums that are set to take effect as a result of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. Earlier this week, the Senate voted 86 to 13 to move forward with debate on the Homeowner Insurance Affordability Act (S. 1926), a bipartisan bill that was introduced in the Senate and in the House of Representatives to fix some of the ill effects of the Biggert-Waters Act. The vote stopped a filibuster seeking more subsidy cuts to the program. Sponsored by Sens. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, and Johnny Iskason, R-GA, the bill would delay...
One of the complications of the federal government’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been the injection of uncertainty over whether the two government-sponsored enterprises can foreclose by advertisement due to Uncle Sam’s control of the companies. That has bred some novel legal arguments against the GSEs’ ability in this regard, but they have met with mixed results thus far. “Over the past several months, one of the newer arguments challenging foreclosure by borrowers is...
Athas’ originations include stringent downpayment requirements: at the end of 2013, the weighted average loan-to-value ratio on loans held by RCP was 48 percent.
In supplemental materials to his speech, President Obama referenced the GSEs' “failed business model,” adding that taxpayers should never again be “on the hook for bad loans and bailouts.”
Bank of the West executive Paul Wible said the lender believes, "A well-underwritten, interest-only mortgage can be a good choice for our customers" and are safe for the depository to hold in portfolio.
Back in September SLS – a subsidiary of the publicly traded Stewart Information Services – bought key assets of Allon’s Allonhill LLC for an undisclosed sum.
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