The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week brought a relatively modest $28.8 million enforcement action against CitiFinancial Servicing and CitiMortgage to resolve allegations that struggling borrowers were kept in the dark about options available to save their homes. Under the terms of the consent order, CitiMortgage has to pay an estimated $17 million to compensate wronged consumers, along with a civil penalty of $3 million. The CFPB is also compelling CitiFinancial Services to refund approximately $4.4 million to consumers, and pay a civil penalty of $4.4 million. The bureau’s action related...

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has an “underperform” rating on Walter’s stock…

In a poll conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance, just 14 percent of respondents said they were against a cut in FHA premiums.

So far, the industry average on MSR markups for 4Q has been roughly 29 percent, according to a recent tally from Compass Point...

On the servicing front, BOK Financial revealed that 4Q16 income was reduced because it left servicing-related hedges on the books for too long...

The CFPB accused CitiFinancial Servicing of misleading consumers about the effect of deferring payment due dates…

As delinquencies and foreclosures decline, specialists that deal with problem loans should see a drop in business...

One loan officer said FHA should consider building a "true jumbo program that is exclusive of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…”

International Value Advisors recently cut its stake in Annaly Capital Management – the nation’s largest mortgage real estate investment trust – by roughly half, a development that could be repeated by other investors as rising rates cause new concerns about MBS prices. At year-end, International owned 4.55 percent of Annaly compared to 9.60 percent a year earlier. Annaly’s largest investment is in agency MBS, of which it owned $73.5 billion at Sept. 30. The publicly traded REIT is...

Black Knight studied loan-level data on outstanding mortgages to derive at its conclusion…