Nonbank mortgage servicers continued surging into the top ranks of servicers during early 2013, more than doubling the size of their stake in the market compared to a year ago, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. The seven largest nonbank servicers accounted for $1.40 trillion in mortgage servicing at the end of the first quarter, an increase of 68.9 percent in just three months. Compared to a year ago, the combined portfolio of these companies was up 144.3 percent. Ocwen Financial rose...[Includes one data chart]
The Treasury Department strongly defended the Home Affordable Modification Program this week after criticism and calls for changes from the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The Obama administration is also considering extending HAMP, which is currently set to expire at the end of this year. Data show that the majority of homeowners who receive assistance from HAMP have a high likelihood of long-term success to avoid foreclosure, and that HAMP modifications continue to outperform private industry modifications, said Andrea Risotto, Treasurys spokesperson for HAMP. She was responding...
Encouraged by what it describes as positive public feedback, the Federal Housing Finance Agency says it is pressing forward with its proposed contractual and disclosure framework to enhance transparency and investor protections in residential mortgage-backed securities. The progress report issued this week by the FHFA addresses work that the agency and the two government-sponsored enterprises have done so far in the development of the contract and disclosure framework, or CDF, as well as on the design of a common securitization platform, or CSP. The combination of the CDF and CSP will enable...
Although a number of major correspondent lenders pulled back from that market in 2013, a hefty 29.1 percent of home mortgages were funded by one company and then sold, servicing released, to a larger aggregator and, typically, securitized by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae. That means total production figures that include correspondent lending significantly overstate the concentration in the mortgage origination sphere. Including its correspondent production, for example, Wells Fargo put its fingerprint on 27.7 percent of new mortgages originated in 2012. But the companys direct originations loans generated through its retail channel and funded through mortgage brokers represented...
When it comes to sales of retail-originated loans with private mortgage insurance, Quicken Loans is the new king of the market, according to exclusive figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance.
The White House continues to search for someone to head the FHFA. But will it ever officially introduce a candidate? Mel Watt's name has come up again.