Tozer believes that with depositories in control of the Ginnie market, the regulation of lender/servicers has essentially been outsourced to banking regulators who have “vast experience” in safety and soundness.
Why short Altisource? This source reasons that as real estate values continue to improve and foreclosures slow, Altisource will have less to do going forward...
Although investors continue to pay premium – or close to it – prices for newly originated mortgage servicing rights, very few residential lenders have tried to securitize the underlying cash flows, leaving some market observers scratching their heads. “There are very few deals out there that I’m aware of,” said one servicing advisor, requesting his name not be used. “If a company needs cash, it’s a good option, but there’s just not much going on.” So far this year, just a handful of MSR-backed bonds have come...
Fitch Ratings this week proposed changes in how it models home prices for loans to be included in new non-agency MBS. The change means more regions being classified as having sustainable home prices, which could lead to lower credit enhancement requirements on new securities. “The updated Sustainable Home Price model shows a stronger relationship to historical home prices and effectively distinguishes between periods of sustainable and unsustainable home prices,” the rating service said. “Under the new methodology, Fitch’s estimation of overvaluation is typically lower than in the previous model build.” Fitch has incorporated...
A housing counseling program funded with federal appropriations has helped reduce losses for servicers and helped borrowers, according to the Urban Institute. NeighborWorks America administers the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program, which was launched in 2008. The Urban Institute tracked outcomes related to $172.56 million in funding for the NFMC program and determined that borrowers receiving counseling from the program realized $518 million in annual savings ...