The bulk servicing market continues to heat up. MountainView is out with two new deals.

The Mortgage Bankers Association wants lower guaranty fees from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but is willing to barter for them.

Most of the CFPB’s requirements stemming from its blizzard of mortgage rulemakings in January take effect sometime next year. But there are a few notable exceptions, including the Truth in Lending Act ban on mandatory arbitration provisions in certain mortgage loans, which kicks in June 1, 2013. “Lenders now using mortgage loan documentation containing such provisions should take steps to ensure that they (and references to them) are removed from documentation to be used for loans that will be subject to the ban,” said Alan...

Since the housing bust, the Federal Reserve has purchased roughly $1.1 trillion of MBS backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

HUD wants the authority to fix the government's ailing reverse mortgage program.

Boosted by acquisitions from Homeward Residential and Residential Capital, Ocwen Financial handled a whopping 33.7 percent share of the subprime mortgages outstanding at the end of the first quarter of 2013, according to a new ranking by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Three major special servicers are in negotiations to acquire more than $300 billion in unpaid principal balance of mortgage servicing each in the next year. While the servicers have broadened their focus to include ... [Includes one data chart]

SunTrust Mortgage is in settlement discussions with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice over alleged violation of the False Claims Act in connection with the bank’s origination of FHA loans. The Atlanta-based mortgage lender disclosed the ongoing talks in a recent regulatory filing after being notified by the agencies of the results of their preliminary investigation during the first quarter of 2013. Even with the ongoing settlement talks, SunTrust continued to deny any wrongdoing, making clear its disagreement with the government’s analysis and methodology. It gave no further ...

Changes to the FHA’s mortgage insurance premium cancellation policy, which take effect on June 3, could ultimately cause some FHA loans closed after the effective date to become a “higher-priced mortgage loan” that no investor would want to purchase, lenders warned. Eliminating the MIP cancellation and requiring insurance to be kept for the life of the mortgage loan will raise the annual percentage rate 150 basis points above the average prime offer rate (APOR) index. This will trigger a higher-priced mortgage loan (HPML) designation for some ...

FHA lenders now face more stringent default monitoring and reporting requirements as federal housing regulators try to keep close tabs on loan performance to reduce losses to the FHA insurance fund. New guidance issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development requires FHA lenders to use new status codes in their monthly reporting of delinquent single-family mortgages, special forbearances and trial payment plans. At the same time, HUD announced a new reporting requirement for FHA loan modifications in which the servicer receives no incentives. The requirement to use the new codes and to ...

FHA loans saw an improvement in delinquencies even as the mortgage industry reported an increase in the overall delinquency rate for single-family mortgages at the end of the first quarter of 2013, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest national delinquency survey. Among loan types, the FHA saw the largest improvement on a seasonally adjusted basis as its delinquency rate dropped to 10.97 percent in the first quarter, down 20 basis points from the previous quarter. This was good news for an agency that has been battling to reduce losses and stabilize its Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. However, the refreshing change was ...