Speculators, in the form of “short-sellers,” are zeroing in on the mortgage industry, including some of the fastest-growing servicers of the past two years: Nationstar Mortgage, Ocwen Financial, and Walter Investment Management Corp. But one mortgage stock being shorted more than any of these is PHH Corp., the parent company of PHH Mortgage, the nation’s seventh largest originator. According to figures compiled by Standard & Poor’s, as of early February, speculators had sold short 17.2 million shares of PHH common. As a ratio of shares outstanding in PHH, this comes...[Includes one data chart]
Since Mel Watt was sworn into a five-year term as Federal Housing Finance Agency director on January 6, the former North Carolina Congressman has made no public appearances or policy statements except for canned comments attributed to him in routine FHFA press releases.
Fed chairman Janet Yellen told legislators: “I think it is really very important for Congress to put in place a new system to address GSE reform. I think we still have a system that has systemic risk."
Despite the news concerning a possible sale, PHH’s share price on Wednesday was trading up, but not by much. Its price is still more than $1 below its 52-week high of $26.76.
Among the changes on the table are disclosing the loan term, total points and fees, the length of any teaser or introductory rate, and the applicant or borrower’s age and credit score.
New York regulator Lawsky raised concerns about the servicing cost-savings long touted by Ocwen, which are achieved via technology and employees largely located outside of the U.S.
Also, Morgan Stanley recently increased its stake in Arch Capital Group to 6.3 percent. Arch owns CMG Mortgage Insurance, which is being renamed Arch Mortgage Insurance Company.
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