Most major jumbo servicers increased their portfolios in 2016, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. A group of 30 servicers handled an estimated $921.10 billion in jumbo mortgages as of the end of the year, up 8.7 percent from the end of 2015. Wells Fargo was the top jumbo servicer, with a $279.97 billion portfolio at yearend. While Wells steadily built up its jumbo servicing throughout the year, it lost some ... [Includes one data chart]

The FHA is nearing full implementation of a new loan review system (LRS) for managing FHA’s Title II single-family quality-control processes. No specific implementation date has been set but it could be sometime in the second quarter, the agency said. The LRS builds on FHA’s efforts to align the documentation of loan-review results. In addition, it incorporates the Single-Family Housing Loan Quality Assessment Methodology or defect taxonomy.The FHA said the new system would not be used to manage any aspect of the agency’s standard loan origination or endorsement processes. Rather, it would be used to review of test cases submitted by lenders seeking unconditional direct-endorsement authority. It would be used as well for various post-endorsement reviews of forward single-family loans. After the ...

Relators in a False Claims Act lawsuit must allege misconduct that has not already been publicly disclosed or risk dismissal of their qui tam claims, according to the U.S. Appeals Court for the Sixth Circuit. In U.S. ex rel. Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. v. U.S. Bank, the court ruled that whistleblowers cannot raise “substantially the same allegations or transactions” that have been previously alleged in an action or claim and publicly disclosed. The qui tam plaintiff must be the original source of the allegations, the court said. Only certain disclosures trigger the prohibition, the court noted. They include disclosures “in a federal criminal, civil or administrative hearing in which the government or its agent is a party,” or in a Government Accountability Office or other federal report, hearing, audit or investigation, or from the news media. n this case, the relator/plaintiff alleged that U.S. Bank initiated foreclosure proceedings ...

Lenders that have representatives who are members of the UI collaborative include Bank of America, Quicken Loans, and Nationstar Mortgage…

The MountainView package has no delinquencies, average FICO scores of 753 and a weighted average LTV of 72 percent.

Now that Carson is official, it's time to pick an FHA commissioner...

Recently, KBW hired Wall Street veteran Brian Wornow as managing director in charge of its financial services group...

With servicing costs climbing the past five years, the issue of how much to pay residential loan processers is once again rearing its ugly head. And depending on who you talk to, the Treasury Department may take up the issue as well, especially since it controls the senior preferred stock of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. One industry advisor involved in the topic, speaking under the condition his name not be used, told...

As policymakers work toward housing finance reform, industry participants are forming plans to ensure that servicing issues are addressed. The Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center recently launched the Mortgage Servicing Collaborative, which will provide data on servicing issues and analyze possible solutions. “We are...

SFIG Executive Director Richard Johns suggested that instead of removing requirements for risk-retention, policymakers could provide capital relief for issuers that retain risk on their securities, rewarding “good behavior.”