But can Walter/Ditech grow its lending business in a highly competitive market?

As lenders increasingly turn to subservicers to handle various functions, up-front due diligence and ongoing monitoring are necessary to help increase originations and maximize return on investment, according to Kurt Blohm, a senior manager at Richey May & Co. Blohm is the leader of the consulting firm’s subservicer oversight review service and he recently authored a white paper on selection and oversight responsibilities for holders of mortgage servicing rights ...

As interest rates increase, nonbanks’ holdings of mortgage servicing rights will help offset losses tied to lower originations, according to analysts at S&P Global Ratings. “We expect market trends affecting nonbank mortgage companies to change dramatically now that rising interest rates are driving MSR valuations higher,” the rating service said in a recent report. Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association separately forecast that the average interest rate ...

House Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling believes it’s a done deal that Cordray will run for office in Ohio…

Watt noted the CRT coverage has come at a financial cost – and that Fannie and Freddie have been paying a premium.

Among the 32 servicers in Inside Mortgage Finance’s large delinquency index, only two reported an increase in total late payments…

What if the FHFA cuts the payments and hands Treasury an IOU? The possibilities are endless...

Although bulk transfers of mortgage-servicing rights were down somewhat in the first quarter, sales advisors are reporting strong activity for the period including more buyer interest and a firming up of prices, even on Ginnie Mae product. According to affiliated newsletter Inside Mortgage Trends, bulk agency MSR transfers that closed in the first quarter were down 35.9 percent from the fourth to $77.3 billion. The biggest downturn was in Fannie Mae product, due to a temporary freeze on bulk transfers as servicers adjusted to new investor reporting requirements. Freddie Mac transfers were actually up from the fourth quarter. More banks and consortiums are extending...

Mortgage performance improved in the first quarter of 2017, recovering from a somewhat unexpected increase in delinquencies at the end of 2016. The total delinquency rate in the Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index was 4.28 percent as of the end of March, down from 5.05 percent at the end of the previous quarter and improving on the 4.95 percent delinquency rate recorded in March 2016. Among the 32 servicers in the large delinquency index, only two reported...[Includes one data table]

Transfers of servicing from large servicers to smaller firms can help improve loss mitigation performance while introducing new risks to the system, according to industry analysts. Smaller servicers tend to be more “nimble” than large servicers and are better suited to handle distressed mortgages, according to analysts at Moody’s Investors Service. The rating service published a report recently highlighting changes in the servicing industry. Many large servicers, predominantly banks, have reduced...