Come February 1 of next year, Fannie Mae will temporarily halt bulk transfers of mortgage servicing rights as it upgrades its reporting systems, a change the industry has known about for quite some time, but one that still promises to cause headaches. The moratorium runs from Feb. 1, 2017, through March 31, according to Fannie lender letter LL-2016-01, at a time when seller-servicers are implementing new investor reporting requirements. The government-sponsored enterprise is advising servicers that if they want to avoid disruption they “should not propose post-delivery servicing transfer effective dates that fall during” the two months. According to investment bankers that buy and sell servicing rights for a living, the moratorium can be worked...

Compass Point has concerns whether Walter's servicing business (Ditech) can return to profitability…

The Supreme Court of the U.S. heard oral arguments this week in a case involving novel lawsuits filed by the city of Miami seeking to recover damages from lenders. Questions and comments by Supreme Court justices indicated some disagreement but perhaps a willingness to let the city pursue its controversial lawsuit. In Bank of America v. City of Miami, BofA and Wells Fargo are challenging lawsuits brought by Miami under the Fair Housing Act. The city is seeking millions of dollars in damages, claiming that mortgages originated by the banks in the run-up to the financial crisis were predatory and counteracted the city’s efforts on fair housing, causing the city to lose the benefits of social, professional and business opportunities that come with an integrated community free from housing discrimination. Neal Katyal, a partner at the law firm of Hogan Lovells and former acting solicitor general of the U.S., argued...

Walter also agreed to sell $5 billion in servicing rights to New Residential Mortgage LLC.

In a Trump administration it's possible Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would would face more competition and have less of an economic edge over non-GSE rivals, said Cowen & Co.

One item they’re asking for is confirmation that servicers may send bankruptcy statements before the regulation’s effective date...

The attorney for the lenders faced scrutiny from some of the liberal-leaning justices on the Supreme Court, including Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor

Thanks to Trump, speculators who bought GSE shares on Tuesday are cleaning up today...

Two Harbors invests in a variety of mortgage assets including MBS, whole loans, MSRs and commercial mortgages.

CEO Messina added: “We are continuing to evaluate possible additional sales of our remaining MSR portfolio and to evaluate the best course of action for our real estate and servicing platforms, which we expect to complete by the end of January 2017.”