The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general urged the agency to revise regulations to avoid the possibility of another multi-billion dollar hit to the FHA insurance fund due to servicers missing their foreclosure or conveyance deadlines. According to a recent IG audit report, HUD paid approximately $2.23 billion in claims for an estimated 239,000 properties that missed foreclosure and conveyance deadlines. In particular, HUD paid an estimated $141.9 million for servicers’ claims for “unreasonable and unnecessary” debenture interest as well as $2.09 billion in servicer claims for holding costs incurred after the deadlines for foreclosure or conveyance had lapsed, the report said. Because of these exorbitant claims payments, the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund became...

With Hispanics predicted to make up more than half of all new households formed between 2020 and 2030, their relatively low homeownership rate should be a growing concern in the mortgage market, according to the Urban Institute. In 2013, just 45 percent of Hispanic households owned their homes compared with 71 percent of whites, said UI researchers Jim Parrott and Yamillet Payano. “If one were to hold those rates constant as Hispanics become an increasing percentage of the pool of homebuyers, the homeownership rate would drop precipitously, causing considerable economic upheaval,” they said. Credit score is...

Back in August, Incenter Mortgage Advisors auctioned off one of the largest bulk packages of Ginnie Mae servicing rights in quite some time: An $8.87 billion pool of receivables…

If rates rise enough, will refis fall by 50 percent?

At Sept. 30, U.S. Bank held $56.2 billion of first and second liens in portfolio, a 7.7 percent improvement from the same period a year earlier.

New Residential continues to be hungry for mortgage servicing rights...

Renzi joined Walter this past fall with a pay package that could top $5 million in his first year at the helm. He previously held senior positions at Citigroup and Freddie Mac.

Analysts will be keeping a close eye on servicing marks from Nationstar Mortgage, PHH Corp., Stonegate Mortgage and Walter Investment Management Corp., the parent of Ditech…

Back in August, the CFPB proposed to dump the current “dispute” function in the consumer complaint closing process and replace it with a short survey – an idea that went over like a lead balloon with the mortgage industry. Through the proposed survey, a customer would have the opportunity to state, using a one- to five-point scale, whether he agreed or disagreed with the following three statements regarding the company’s response to, and handling of, his complaint. They are: “The company addressed all of my issues,” “I understood the company’s response,” and “The company did what it said it would do.” The customer would also be given the opportunity to provide a narrative description to explain the rating. The Consumer Bankers ...

The MMIF had $30.86 billion in capital resources at the end of fiscal 2015. HUD does not provide updated figures on the fund’s capital resources through the year…