The captive insurer is owned by a REIT, a spokeswoman for the district bank said, but declined to name either.

Over the past few years, 482 of Ocwen’s deals have experienced breaches, but the trustee generally did not seek termination of the servicing contract.

The representations and warranties used in jumbo MBS can sufficiently handle some breaches but fail to completely protect investors, according to Moody’s Investors Service. In a report released this week, the rating service noted that issuers use two main varieties of reps and warrants: those that allow for an open-ended review of loans and those that employ a prescriptive framework. The open-ended reviews are seen in jumbo MBS from Redwood Trust, WinWater Home Mortgage and others...

The planned transfer of servicing on two non-agency MBS from Ocwen Financial to Select Portfolio Servicing marks the first time in recent years that Ocwen will lose servicing due to a vote by investors. Analysts at Moody’s Investors Service said the servicing transfer on two deals issued by Barclays Capital in 2006 “set a negative precedent” for Ocwen. The transfer was prompted by a vote by investors in the non-agency MBS that came about because Ocwen experienced an event of default due to recent downgrades to the firm’s servicer ratings. “While most of Ocwen’s portfolio has not experienced [defaults based on servicer quality] that would allow for forced transfer, around 695 transactions do have...

Sources contend that Nationstar Mortgage has ceased bidding on flow deals, preferring to shop for bargains in the conventional bulk market.

This mortgage manager estimates a “good” LO works 50 to 70 hours a week…

For the first time in nearly three years, commercial banks and thrifts increased their mortgage servicing rights accounts during the fourth quarter of 2014, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call reports. At the end of last year, banks serviced residential mortgages with an unpaid principal balance of $4.416 trillion for other investors, an increase of $3.6 billion from the third quarter. That represents a tiny 0.08 percent increase ... [Includes one data chart]

Altisource Residential and Altisource Asset Management abruptly cancelled their scheduled earnings calls this week as the firms work on modifying an asset management agreement. Both of the companies have ties to Ocwen Financial, which has faced its own operating issues in recent months. “Despite the negative headlines surrounding our primary mortgage servicer Ocwen, our performance has remained strong,” said Ashish Pandey, AR’s CEO. The real estate investment trust had ...

Subservicing vendors increased their contracts by 23.1 percent in terms of dollar volume over the past year and now process an estimated $1.12 trillion of home mortgages, according to exclusive survey figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance. When it comes to market share, subservicers control 12.3 percent of all U.S. housing receivables. According to interviews with industry executives, compliance costs are...[Includes one data chart]

The days of it being a seller’s market for mortgage banking franchises appears to be over, with current owners are increasingly unwilling to part with their companies at reduced prices. As one merger-and-acquisitions specialist put it, “It’s just hard getting deals done these days.” It looks like a case of supply and demand – and, of course, cash. At the very least, sellers want to receive book value for their companies plus some type of “earn-out” that could last up to 10 years. According to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance over the past week, the ratio of buyers to sellers has...