The Mortgage Bankers Association notched a win for small, independent issuers after the Financial Accounting Standards Board agreed with the group’s position on the accounting of seriously delinquent loans in Ginnie Mae pools. At issue is whether companies that service pools with loans that are 90 days or more delinquent should put those loans on their balance sheet even if they have no intention of buying the loans out of the pool. According to the MBA, a Big Four accounting firm issued controversial guidance which would have been burdensome for small mortgage-backed securities issuers that have limited funding and no incentive or history of buying defective loans out of pools. After months of exchanges, FASB staff finally agreed with the MBA’s view that the decision process involves two steps. First, a loan must be 90 days or more delinquent and trigger ...
The nation’s largest nonbank servicer revealed that during 2014, state regulators commenced 46 examinations “of one or more of our areas of operation…”
Among the top 10 residential servicers, just three firms managed to grow their receivables from the third to fourth quarter: Quicken, Walter and U.S. Bank Home.
In its 8-K filing with the SEC, Ocwen revealed that during 2014, state regulators commenced 46 examinations “of one or more of our areas of operation…”
A long-awaited proposal from the Federal Housing Finance Agency that would codify minimum net worth and liquidity requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seller/servicers received mostly good reviews from the industry, but there are concerns about some of the details. For the Mortgage Bankers Association, the chief worry centers around the agency’s liquidity requirements. Released late last week, the FHFA is asking...[Includes one data chart]
Although depository institutions continued to account for the lion’s share of the mortgage servicing market, nonbank servicers continued to gain ground in late 2014, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. Banks, thrifts and credit unions accounted for 71.8 percent of the $7.351 trillion of home mortgages serviced by the 50 largest players in the market as of the end of last year. Nonbank servicers accounted for 28.2 percent of the group total, up from 25.9 percent at the end of 2013. That’s...[Includes two data charts]
Pingora Asset Management is trying to raise $500 million of additional capital to buy mortgage servicing rights from eager sellers. If successful, it will bring the young company’s investment in residential receivables up to $1 billion. According to new figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, Pingora owned $25.38 billion of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac residential servicing rights at yearend, ranking 24th among all servicers. Three years ago, it didn’t even exist. Company founder and Chief Executive Michael Lau was said...
Seven of the 10 largest servicers participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program were unable to process the number of HAMP modification applications they received in November, according to the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. SIGTARP first raised concerns about servicers’ slow processing of HAMP mods in September. In a report released last week, the SIGTARP took the Treasury Department to task for not doing enough to address the issue. “Treasury must ensure...