Mortgage delinquencies in the fourth quarter of 2016 hit their highest level of the year, erasing declines from the previous quarter, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index. The foreclosure rate continued to decline, hitting levels last seen in 2007. Among the servicers tracked by the index, the total mortgage delinquency rate was 5.05 percent as of the end of the fourth quarter. The rate was at 5.54 percent at the end of 2015 and declined each quarter until the most recent period. Each delinquency bucket increased...[Includes one data table]

Fed Chairman Janet Yellen on the future of Fannie and Freddie: “…I would hope that Congress would decide explicitly on what the government’s role is and if there are guarantees, that they would be recognized and priced appropriately.”

“Anytime you have rates run up by 50 basis points, it usually takes about 90 days before a washout begins,” said one mortgage advisor.

Walter Investment/Ditech has yet to establish a date for the release of its fourth quarter results…

It’s unclear at this point what the takeover might mean, if anything, for Nationstar, whose own share price has rallied the past few months.

Bill Erbey, who was forced out by financial regulators two-plus years ago, controls 16.8 percent of Ocwen Financial...

Among the key announcements: the company is selling its PHH Home Loans joint venture to Guaranteed Rate; unloading its private label operations to LenderLive Network, and monetizing “certain” servicing assets.

Mark Filler, who founded Jordan and served as its CEO, was named president of Finance of America Commercial.

Mortgage borrowers still have plenty to complain to the CFPB about, especially on the mortgage servicing front, the latest monthly consumer complaint report from the bureau suggests. “The most common issues identified by consumers are problems when they are unable to pay (loan modification, collection, foreclosure),” which were cited by 49 percent, according to the CFPB, followed by issues making payments (loan servicing, payments, escrow accounts), identified by 33 percent. Other homeowners brought up problems having to do with applying for a loan (application, originator, mortgage broker), which was noted by 9 percent, followed by signing the agreement (settlement process and costs), which was highlighted by 5 percent, and receiving a credit offer (credit decision, underwriting [With Two Data Charts]....

President Donald Trump has put the Dodd-Frank Act in his crosshairs, issuing an executive order earlier this month that directs the Treasury secretary to work with the members of the Financial Stability Oversight Council to review the current regulatory regime and evaluate it according to a handful of “core principles” Trump believes should shape the regulation of the U.S. financial system. The principles include fostering informed consumer choices, preventing bailouts, promoting economic growth, tailoring regulations and ensuring regulatory accountability. Industry observers and Republicans and Democrats alike on Capitol Hill saw the order as the beginning of an attack on Dodd-Frank and perhaps even a shot across the bow of the CFPB, with negative implications for the agency’s mortgage lending and ...