Loss-mitigation activity by major bank servicers has decreased significantly in the past year, coinciding with servicers’ completion of loss-mitigation requirements under the $25 billion national servicing settlement. Eight major banks and thrifts completed 72,466 loan modifications in the fourth quarter of 2013, a 49.5 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2012, according to a new report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The servicers completed 60,765 foreclosures in the fourth quarter, down 42.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2012. The declines in loan mods and foreclosures by banks have outpaced...

Hisey, a former Fannie Mae executive, has been given the title of chief strategy and external affairs officer, a newly created position at the nonbank lender/servicer.

Bank of Hawaii is recruiting for a group executive to head its mortgage banking division. Korn Ferry has been hired to conduct the search.

At least 46 vintage non-agency MBS took principal forbearance-related losses in March, according to industry analysts. The losses are a concern for investors because they were taken without warning, based on forbearance that happened well before March. Most of the deals taking retroactive forbearance losses in March were issued by Bear Stearns from 2005 through 2007 and were largely serviced by JPMorgan Chase, according to analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays Capital. Write-downs on the deals were as high as 6.8 percent for a single month. “When a servicer recognizes losses on loans previously modified with forbearance, it could significantly impact...

In the pre-crash days, newly created MSRs were selling at 6 and even 7 times the servicing fee. “I even saw prices of eight,” said Chuck Klein, managing partner for Mortgage Banking Solution.

“Bank, nonbank – it doesn’t matter to us. We look at where the risk to the consumer is and we try to execute our program against that,” said Peggy Twohig, assistant director in the CFPB’s Office of Supervision Policy.

The two have petitioned Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to designate Fannie and Freddie as SIFIs. Being an SIFI means the two would be subject to higher capital standards and greater scrutiny – as though the two aren’t under enough scrutiny as it is.

Servicing deals, both flow and bulk, continue to hit the market.

A group called The 60 Plus Association has released TV and radio ads in seven states targeting Senate Banking Committee Members who are sponsoring GSE reform legislation. The group claims the bills “allow the government to take over the mortgage industry in an action 'disturbingly similar' to Obamacare.”

To date, the use of eminent domain to restructure residential loans has garnered a ton of headlines in the financial press, but has posted little in the way of success.