Rating agencies and Wall Street firms are paying close attention to the mounting regulatory problems at Ocwen Financial, fearful that more bad news could lead to servicing downgrades, which in turn could hamper its ability as a master servicer of MBS. One servicing advisor who has worked with Ocwen over the past two years noted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pay close attention to the master servicing ratings of their counterparties. “You have to maintain minimum ratings and if you don’t – there’s going to be trouble,” he said. Downgrades, he added, can lead...
The mortgage industry cannot and should not wait for Congress to get around to a legislative solution to the government-sponsored enterprises when much of what is necessary can be accomplished administratively, according to experts at a forum hosted by the Urban Institute and CoreLogic. Andrew Davidson, president of Andrew Davidson & Co., noted that among the lessons of this year’s failure to launch a Senate GSE reform bill is that lawmakers find it easier to agree on a set of principles for a mortgage finance system than on the system’s design. With legislation a long shot before the 2016 presidential elections, Davidson said...
Nonbank mortgage servicers continued to gradually expand their share of the market during the third quarter of 2014, but the pace has clearly slowed. Nonbank institutions accounted for 27.2 percent of the $7.389 trillion of servicing controlled by the top 50 servicers in the industry, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. The nonbank share of the top 50 in combined servicing was up from 26.8 percent at the midway point in 2014 and 24.0 percent in September 2013. The nonbank expansion has slowed...[Includes two data charts]
PHH Mortgage may avoid taking a big hit in a legal dispute with a homeowner after the company mishandled his mortgage modification. Last week, in Linza v. PHH Mortgage Corp. et al., Yuba County (CA) Superior Court Judge Stephen Berrier threw out most of the jury’s original $16.2 million verdict against the company, including all punitive damages. Instead, the judge said that homeowner Phillip Linza is entitled to only $159,000 in damages. The case stems...
Private mortgage insurers would welcome the return of conventional 97 percent loan-to-value mortgages from the government-sponsored enterprises, but analysts say it might not be a slam dunk. The private MI industry has been encouraging the GSEs, particularly Fannie Mae, to bring back the 97 percent LTV product to compete with the FHA’s main product, which requires just a 3.5 percent downpayment. For years, Fannie offered...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported a combined $6.0 billion in net income for the third quarter of 2014, up from $5.1 billion in the previous quarter. The two government-sponsored enterprises will send to the Treasury $6.8 billion as return on the government’s senior preferred stock. That will bring cumulative payments under the GSE conservatorships to $225.5 billion. Fannie and Freddie were given...
With the Republicans poised to take control of the U.S. Senate and having gained an even greater GOP majority in the House, legislative conversations surrounding housing finance reform should return to Capitol Hill, but few political commentators believe a bill can actually be passed. Control of the Senate swung back to the GOP for the first time since 2006 after the polls closed, as Republicans now enjoy a 52-45-3 majority in the Senate. However, the race in Louisiana between incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican challenger, Rep. Bill Cassidy is headed...
The mortgage insurance industry lost a key political ally with the reelection defeat of first-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina.
RSS