The overall size of the single-family mortgage servicing market isn’t changing much, but the dynamics of the business continued to shift in early 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. The Federal Reserve won’t provide an official reading on single-family mortgage debt outstanding as of the end of the first quarter for another month or so, but the data point to little or no growth in the market during early 2015. Mortgage originations were...[Includes two data charts]

Thanks to the recent uptick in interest rates, the value of mortgage servicing rights is on the rise again, which should pave the way for a busy spring and early summer for investment bankers who play in the space. “Prices are holding up pretty well,” said Mark Garland, president of MountainView Servicing Group, Denver. “Prepayment speeds increased in March, but April speeds have come down a bit.” According to Garland, buyers of receivables are paying...

The share of mortgages that were delinquent or in the foreclosure process at the end of the first quarter of 2015 declined to levels last seen in 2007, according to new data from Inside Mortgage Finance and the Mortgage Bankers Association. The Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index hit 5.81 percent for the first quarter of 2015. Nearly every servicer tracked by the index posted improved performance compared with the previous quarter. “More recent loan vintages, specifically loans originated in 2012 and later, continue...[Includes one data chart]

Quicken Loans recently sold $1.25 billion of corporate debt through a private placement, and speculation is rising that the nation’s largest nonbank originator may use the cash to significantly expand its servicing portfolio. As Inside Mortgage Finance went to press this week, company spokesman Aaron Emerson said he had no information about servicing expansion. Regarding details of the debt sale, he noted: “Legally, there’s not much I can say about the topic.” Quicken serviced...

Exams of nonbank servicers in 2014 were “significantly extended” due to consistent delays in receiving information, according to a recent report by the Multi-State Mortgage Committee. The committee handles supervision of nonbank servicers and lenders that operate in more than one state. Some servicers were even found to have tampered with their loan collection logs prior to providing them to examiners. Many of the problems were related to growth at nonbank servicers, according to Rick St. Onge, chairman of the MMC and examination chief of the division of consumer services at Washington State’s Department of Financial Institutions. “Over the year, large bulk loan transfers took place...

Mortgage servicing rights are playing an important role in how mortgage lenders finance their businesses, experts say, and a more balanced MSR market is expected this year despite persistent regulatory concerns and worries about high servicing costs. It was clear from a panel discussion at the Urban Institute this week that MSRs have grown in importance as a form of collateral and that it continues to divide lender/servicers and consumer advocates. Overall, six panelists agreed that certain reforms are needed if the market expects to thrive in the current environment. Stephen Fleming, senior vice president with Phoenix Capital, expects...

Nearly every firm tracked in the Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index reported improvements in mortgage performance during the first quarter...

Redwood posted just $2 million in income from residential mortgage banking activities in the first quarter.

On the plus side, the publicly traded nonbank funded $4.2 billion during Q1, a 16 percent sequential improvement.

In the first quarter, Freddie Mac's net interest income rose on a sequential basis by a mere 2 percent to $3.647 billion.