In a ruling that may impact future fair-lending class actions, a federal district court judge in Manhattan has denied class certification in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and National Consumer Law Center against global investment bank Morgan Stanley. Filed in October 2012, the suit was brought on behalf of African American borrowers in Detroit who obtained subprime loans from New Century Mortgage, a now-defunct originator that sold the loans to secondary-market purchasers, including Morgan Stanley, which then securitized them. New Century originated...

Housing is showing some traction, but heavy regulation and enforcement continue to weigh on the mortgage market, according to analysts at this week’s secondary-market conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association in New York. Charles Gabriel, president of Capital Alpha Advisors, said there are some green shoots in the mortgage market, including signs of more home sales. But he characterized it as “a mature market that is suboptimized.” Lenders have paid massive penalties in lawsuits, he added, and there is no sign that they will expand the credit box. “U.S. Bank was asked...

According to analyst Paul Miller of FBR Capital Markets, the standards are meant to “impact small, nonpublic, nondepository institutions that have operated on the periphery of the sector.”

In response to its anxiety, the Inspector General plans a series of audits that will study the risks posed by an increasing volume of nonbank loan sales.

Mortgages with uncured TRID violations will have higher losses if they default, owing to the potential for increased legal costs and damages, said Moody's.

The seller of the MSRs was identified as a “subsidiary of a publicly traded company established in 1995.”

Several hard money lenders are involved in financing flippers, charging interest rates that are several percentage points above the going Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac rate.

Upwards of $500 billion of mortgage servicing rights could change hands this year. But maybe that estimate is too low...

Among other actions, Ocwen entered into an agreement in April to receive up to $125.0 million of backup financing for new loan originations...

“This should be terrific for our company,” said Michael Nierenberg, New Residential’s president and CEO, during a recent conference call with investors. “We expect sustainable earnings as a result of our long-term deal pipeline.”