An expert in the commercial real estate debt market is calling on industry participants to “reset the business to where it used to be” to stop the commercial MBS market from shrinking any further. In a recent blog, Rick Jones, partner and co-chair of Dechert’s finance and real estate practice, noted CRE securitization, or at least the conduit part of the business, continues to dwindle. It has fallen from $800 billion in outstanding principal balance in 2007 to approximately $400 billion currently, with a run rate of about $50 billion annually. The downward trend is...
An “excess” servicing deal tied to $117.0 billion of mortgage servicing rights between New Residential Investment Corp. and Ocwen Financial appears to be dragging on longer than expected, causing anxiety in some circles. The transaction – which changes the fees paid to Ocwen resulting in a short-term (gross) gain of $425 million – was unveiled on May 1 and has yet to close. Piper Jaffray analyst Kevin Barker and his team write in a recent report that the deal was slated to be ...
Nationstar Mortgage has moved its offshore call centers back to the U.S. to improve service to customers, particularly those who prefer to deal with domestic company representatives. The Dallas-based nonbank described the move as part of its two-year plan to become more customer-centric and provide more personalized service to its more than 3 million customers. The shift starts with rebranding, which appears designed to create the impression that the customer is dealing with ...
As much as the False Claims Act has been a formidable government enforcement tool against FHA loan originators, the statute is also being used increasingly against mortgage servicers, according to compliance experts. Within the last 18 months, the DOJ has expanded FCA use to reverse mortgages and loan servicing, according to Phil Schulman and Krista Cooley, both partners in Mayer Brown’s Washington office and members of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services group, during a recent podcast. While the Department of Justice has consistently used the FCA and its treble-damage provision to enforce FHA loan origination rules, the economic downturn and foreclosure crisis has put...
Over the past 18 months or so, the DOJ has expanded FCA use to reverse mortgages and loan servicing, according to attorneys Phil Schulman and Kristie Kully…
A group of servicers and other industry participants is focusing on issues with government-insured mortgages and has plans to simplify servicing practices. The Mortgage Servicing Collaborative was organized by the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center. It includes representatives from a number of major servicers along with some officials from trade groups, consumer groups, investors, mortgage insurers, vendors and academics. The goal is...
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