Consumer advocates also recommend that state policymakers pass legislation or implement regulation requiring servicers to adopt and engage in loss-mitigation practices.
The White House wants to change the HARP eligibility date, making more underwater borrowers eligible for the program, Inside Mortgage Finance has learned.
Freddie Mac is getting the word out early that it is phasing out its software for managing delinquent home loans with plans to discontinue the service altogether next year. The company has already stopped registering new customers for EarlyIndicator, Freddies Windows-based program used to predict loan delinquency. "To provide users with time to transition, we are letting them know we are retiring EarlyIndicator one year in advance, Freddie said in its announcement earlier this month.
Most companies reported declining earnings from their mortgage banking businesses during the first quarter of 2013, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. As a group, however, the 23 diverse businesses included in the round-up posted a surprising 34.2 percent increase in aggregate mortgage banking earnings compared to the fourth quarter. The aggregate mortgage banking income was $6.74 billion for the group, a $1.72 billion increase over the previous quarter. Virtually all of that increase could be attributed to one company, Bank of America, which bounced back from a $540 million net loss during the fourth quarter to a $1.26 billion profit in early 2013 a $1.80 billion turnaround. BofA took...[Includes one data chart]