Incentive payments to FHA servicers based on a compliance score will soon replace the current tier ranking-based inducements used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reward above par servicer performance. In an update to its servicer evaluation process, HUD said implementation of the National Servicing Centers Servicer Performance Scorecard (SPS) is underway and the transition from Tier Ranking System (TRS) incentive payment to an SPS payment scheme will be announced in a mortgagee letter as soon as the implementation is completed. In the future, the SPS may be used as ...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is evaluating potential changes to its tough condominium requirements, some of which could be announced soon. A department spokesperson declined to comment on specific requirements that may be included in new guidelines but said the agency is working to respond to industry concerns. Industry observers say the rules, which HUD put in place in 2009, have left many condominium units ineligible for FHA-insured financing. Condominium association boards have been ...
Effective June 2012, Ginnie Mae will provide monthly disclosures about accumulated multiple issuer pool (MIP) activity in terms of dollar amount and number of loans as well as by pool term, pool type and security interest. The information provided will apply to issuances for the current month. The disclosure will provide issuers and investors additional insight into the multiple issuer pools in process. However, the information can change any time until the completion of the MIP process at the end of the month, Ginnie Mae cautioned. A final list will be ...
The sharp pullback by wholesale lenders from the correspondent market has forced many originators to reconsider keeping mortgage servicing rights when they sell loans in the secondary market. As Bank of America and other wholesalers shut down their correspondent programs, bids for mortgage servicing rights began to deteriorate, several market participants noted during the Mortgage Bankers Association Secondary Market Conference in New York last week. To many originators, MSR prices dont reflect the value in the asset given the high credit quality of current production and expected slow...
While many of the largest mortgage lenders in the industry continue to scale back their operations in a somewhat precarious operating environment, a few companies see opportunity in the reshuffling and are hitting the gas pedal. None more than Nationstar Mortgage. Fresh off an initial public offering, the company has been on a buying spree for mortgage servicing and production capacity. Although Nationstar ranked as the 11th largest servicer in the market at the end of March, pending acquisitions would push it all the way to fourth place on a pro forma basis, according to a new...(Includes one data chart)
Mortgage servicers reported significant improvement in loan delinquency rates during the first quarter of 2012, although the inventory of foreclosed units remained at historically high levels. The overall delinquency rate dropped 100.3 basis points to 9.88 percent as of the end of March, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index. That was the lowest level for the series in three years, and all 18 lenders included in the index reported lower delinquency rates than they had at the end of 2011. The biggest declines were in...(Includes two data charts)
Residential Capitals filing for bankruptcy early this week signaled Ally Financials exit from the mortgage industry, and though the transfer of its servicing and origination platforms will not change the market in a meaningful way beyond industry rankings, the legal situation could offer a paradigm for other beleaguered mortgage units to follow. It wasnt a monstrous event, said one industry observer. It was an unfortunate event. Everyone knew they missed an interest payment, so it wasnt much of a surprise. ResCap includes both GMAC Mortgage, Allys mainstream mortgage banking operation, and whats...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sided with borrowers in an appeals case being brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Birster v. American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc., which is currently before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from using certain means to collect debts and from engaging in certain conduct in connection with the collection of a debt. In order for a plaintiff to successfully sue under the act, he or so must show two things: that the defendant is in fact a debt collector under the law, and the behavior...
In Bridge v. Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently ruled that a pro se plaintiff stated a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim against a mortgage servicer where the mortgage was not actually in default, reversing the district courts dismissal. The court came to the conclusion that the mortgage servicer and the purchaser of the mortgage came under the scope of the FDCPA because the mortgage servicer treated the mortgage as if it were in default and tried to collect on it as a debt that was in default. In Bridge, the homeowner...
Ocwen Financial has been a leader in principal-reduction loan modifications and officials at the company suggest the mods give Ocwen a competitive advantage over other servicers. The advantage could come into play as bank servicers look to complete required principal-reduction mods as part of the recent $25 billion servicing settlement. I think weve done as many principal-reduction mods as the rest of the industry combined ...