A key organization of state banking regulators will soon release a proposed framework for nonbank mortgage servicers, though how it is finally implemented is still up in the air. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors has put together a regulatory framework that covers 12 areas of servicing and is close to being issued for public comment, said Michael Stevens, senior executive vice president of the group, during a panel session at a mortgage servicing conference ...

"I prefer Ocwen over any other servicer to the extent they continue the same practices," said investor John Devaney, CEO of United Capital Markets.

The volume of mortgage-servicing right transfers is expected to continue growing in 2015, perhaps hitting as high as $500 billion, according to experts attending the MSR conference sponsored by Information Management Network this week in New York. Although the focus in recent years has been on the advance of nonbank servicers, observers agree that banks will remain a major force in the industry. The wild card in the MSR market is ... [Includes one data chart]

For the past five years, the IBM-owned Seterus has been Fannie Mae’s “go-to” guy when it came to default management servicing, especially in regard to short sales, but the company’s future looks cloudy as problem loans run off the government-sponsored enterprise’s books. At the end of 2014, Seterus serviced roughly $27 billion of residential loans, according to data compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance. At one time, sources say, the company serviced at least ...

Still, industry representatives were less than thrilled, including the Consumer Bankers Association.

The supply of home mortgage debt outstanding grew for the second consecutive quarter during the final three months of 2014, eking out a slim 0.1 percent gain from the end of September. The Federal Reserve late last week reported that $9.862 trillion of 1-4 family mortgage debt was outstanding at the end of last year. It may not sound like much, but it marked the first time since ... [Includes one data chart]

In the wake of a recent Supreme Court of the United States decision allowing loan officers to receive overtime pay, mortgage company owners are already laying down the law: no OT for LOs unless management approves the extra time first. The freshly decided case is causing lenders to distinguish between “inside” and “outside” salesforces. According to early interpretations of the decision, loan officers who work in a branch more than half their time are ...

More than a year after standards for qualified mortgages took effect, a number of lenders are willing to offer non-QMs, but production has been concentrated on affluent borrowers. Lenders seem less willing to offer non-QMs to borrowers with lower credit scores or higher loan-to-value ratios. For the past year, Nationstar Mortgage has been working toward offering a non-QM refinance product. The loan would target non-agency borrowers in the nonbank’s large servicing ...

Real estate agents have a positive outlook for the spring homebuying season, especially first-time homebuyers, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. Tom Popik, research director of Campbell Surveys, said homebuyer traffic was higher than expected during the winter and demand from first-time buyers is expected to be strong in the coming months. “Rising interest rates may stimulate the market as homebuyers ...

In total, 16 groups signed the letter, including the American Bankers Association, the Community Mortgage Lenders of America, and the National Association of Realtors...