Mortgage delinquencies in the fourth quarter of 2016 hit their highest level of the year, erasing declines from the previous quarter, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index. The foreclosure rate continued to decline, hitting levels last seen in 2007. Among the servicers tracked by the index, the total mortgage delinquency rate was 5.05 percent as of the end of the fourth quarter. The rate was at 5.54 percent at the end of 2015 and declined each quarter until the most recent period. Each delinquency bucket increased...[Includes one data table]

A significant number of borrowers with subprime mortgages originated in 2002 and beyond are prime targets for refinances, according to analysts at Black Knight Financial Services. More than 600,000 subprime mortgages are currently performing, according to Wesley Winter, a senior modeler at Black Knight. He said that while all of the borrowers aren’t necessarily attractive targets for refinances, there’s $10.0 billion to $25.0 billion in potential refi opportunities involving ...

Fitch Ratings assigned a subprime servicer rating to Citadel Servicing in late December, an indication that Citadel will be involved with rated nonprime mortgage-backed securities. Citadel received an RPS3- rating with a stable outlook. Such level 3 servicers demonstrate proficiency in overall servicing ability, according to Fitch. “The servicer rating and stable outlook reflect Citadel’s experienced management team, adequate risk management practices and moderate use of technology ...

Performance of subprime mortgages continues to improve as the amount of loans outstanding declines. Some $265.0 billion in subprime mortgages were outstanding as of the end of the third quarter, according to estimates by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Only a small volume of new subprime mortgages have been originated since 2008, and in the past couple of years, large transfers of subprime servicing have been limited, prompting subprime servicing to ... [Includes one data chart]

Caliber Home Loans has significantly increased its servicing portfolio – including subprime mortgages – in recent years. While rapid growth by nonbank servicers has raised some concerns among industry analysts, S&P Global Ratings said Caliber has effectively managed its growth to this point. Caliber is one of the few servicers that has increased subprime servicing volume in recent years, and officials at the company have plans for further growth. To this point, Caliber’s servicing growth has ...

Officials at Ocwen Financial said the nonbank is close to resolving outstanding issues with state regulators which could allow the firm to resume acquiring mortgage servicing rights. However, the non-agency servicing acquisitions market is subdued, and Ocwen is putting an emphasis on originations. Ocwen significantly increased its servicing portfolio via acquisitions until enforcement actions by state regulators limited its ability to acquire MSRs. The consent order from the ...

While delinquencies on nonprime, non-qualified mortgages originated in recent years have been low, lenders note that servicing these loans requires unique efforts. How borrowers are welcomed by the servicer is seen as particularly important. Daniel Perl, CEO of Citadel Servicing, said Citadel’s borrowers receive three or four phone calls from the servicer within the first 20 days of origination. “We want people to understand that we’re here to help,” Perl said during a recent webinar ...

The Structured Finance Industry Group is preparing to publish standards that aim to increase transparency for representations and warranties on new non-agency mortgage-backed securities, according to officials at the trade group. Eric Kaplan, a managing partner at Ranieri Strategies, said SFIG will release one or two “green papers” this year as part of the group’s RMBS 3.0 effort to revive issuance of non-agency MBS. He said the next green paper from SFIG will ... [Includes two briefs]

Ocwen Financial accounted for slightly more than half of the modifications completed under the new Streamline Home Affordable Modification Program offering, according to the company. Streamline HAMP mods are only available for non-agency mortgages. The program is aimed at borrowers who meet general HAMP eligibility criteria but haven’t completed a loan mod application by the time their loan is 90 days delinquent. It’s streamlined in that no income documentation is ...

Ocwen Financial failed two metrics under the national mortgage settlement involving force-placed insurance, according to a report this week by the settlement’s monitor. The failures related to activity in the fourth quarter of 2015. The servicer had a 24.2 percent error rate on the timeliness of force-placed insurance notices, well above the 5.0 percent error rate allowed under the settlement. Ocwen said most of the errors were attributable to the implementation of a new ...