One veteran mortgage trade group official, a staunch Republican no less, told us that Lawsky is an “honest and bright guy,” adding that he understands the issues.

A federal judge last week dismissed claims brought by the state of Massachusetts that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac violated state law by putting limits on the sale of pre- and post-foreclosure homes. State Attorney General Martha Coakley filed suit in June against the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as GSE conservator, alleging that Fannie and Freddie are violating state law by refusing to negotiate lower terms for distressed Bay State homeowners.

The number of residential properties that are seriously underwater declined to 8.1 million in the third quarter of 2014 from 9.1 million in the first quarter, according to a new report from RealtyTrac. Another 8.5 million properties were on the verge of resurfacing. Dan Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, said it is not yet time to celebrate. He said 8.1 million underwater properties still represent 15 percent of all mortgaged properties with an estimated $1.4 trillion in negative equity ...

The share price of Ocwen Financial recently fell to a 52-week low of $18.47, a 70 percent decline that has wiped out at least $5 billion in market equity.

Although most of the mortgage-servicing sales in recent months have been flow transactions of new production, more banks – especially mid-tier institutions – are expected to unload servicing in response to regulatory constraints, according to experts at last week’s Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention in Las Vegas. Many banks continue to focus on capital risk management and serving their core customers, said David Hisey, executive vice president of Nationstar Mortgage, during a panel session on servicing. Many servicing transfers are driven by a desire to deal with one or both of those issues, he added. Most mortgage servicing rights transfers now are...

Ocwen Financial has a huge mismatch between the size of its $400 billion servicing portfolio and its new originations. Then again, its MSRs are running off...

Ocwen chief Bill Erbey noted that the settlement amount might be materially higher and include requirements beyond a monetary penalty.

The SIGTARP said that since the beginning of 2013 it has received complaints from “nearly 100” borrowers regarding issues with servicing transfers, and that 84 of the calls came in 2014.

Guild's McGarry also said the company will not be closing on any more transactions in 2014.

Pacific Union Financial took in $100 million of profits. It’s not every day that a privately held nonbank tells the world what it’s earning…