Lenders are discovering hidden gold in their mortgage servicing rights these days. But even with the run-up in values, many lenders are choosing to keep their servicing, some because it maintains relationships with customers who have additional valuable banking needs, and others to avoid the regulatory headaches associated with servicing transfers. Some lenders are taking a middle path, selling the asset but continuing to work the loans as subservicer. During a webinar sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance this week, Mark Garland, president of MountainView Servicing in Denver, noted that there are far more sellers today than even one year ago. In the first three months of 2014, 36 deals went to auction with $98 billion in unpaid principal balance. That compares with the 13 deals ($146 billion) auctioned during the same period last year, although $100 billion of that was in one deal. “Despite strong demand and pricing levels, sellers are vetting...
Speculation continues to grow concerning which nonbanks have looked at buying PHH Mortgage. Our sources caution that “looking” doesn’t mean a deal is close. PHH is based in Cherry Hill, NJ, not too far from Philadelphia. One advisor suggested we look at who has been flying in from points south.
Nonbanks had an average of 400 loans per full-time employee in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to Fitch, up from about 300 loans per full time employee in the second half of 2012.
Fannie and Freddie issued $44.6 billion of single-family MBS in February, a 5.1 percent decline from January and a stunning 62.0 percent drop for the first two months of 2014 when compared to the same period in 2013.
The government’s plan to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is wrongheaded and would result in lower housing prices, economic harm and higher unemployment. So says well-regarded bank analyst Richard Bove of Rafferty Capital Markets.
In return, FHFA's pending lawsuits will be dismissed with prejudice and Bank of America and its affiliates will be released from all securities law and fraud claims, as well as certain other claims related to the non-agency RMBS in dispute.
One executive familiar with PHH Mortgage said he anticipates that other senior officers may leave shortly. The firm's departing CAO was with the lender for just over a year.
According to a new research note from Sterne Agee, 65 percent of Altisource’s reported revenue is tied to Ocwen or Ocwen-related companies. “This is a highly symbiotic relationship," writes Stern Agee analyst Henry Coffey.
Nonbanks owned servicing rights on $1.136 trillion of securitized mortgages at the beginning of 2010, a figure that has swelled to $1.906 trillion as of the end of last year.
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