Investors in non-agency mortgage-backed securities would rather not fight in court to enforce buybacks, according to Talcott Franklin, shareholder of his namesake law firm. However, Franklin said litigation has been necessary because servicers – largely those affiliated with lenders or MBS issuers – have not done enough to prevent losses. “If the banks can get it together on the servicing side and try to reduce these losses, that is going to be the best way for them to proactively reduce these [buyback] risks,” he said this week during a webinar hosted by Inside Mortgage Finance Publications. ...

The servicing compensation structure for non-agency mortgages must be reformed, according to Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin. The Federal Housing Finance Agency noted that the options it proposed for agency mortgages last week could also serve as a model for non-agency mortgages and could help revive the sector. “It is imperative to reconsider the compensation structure so that servicers have adequate incentives to perform payment processing efficiently on performing mortgages, and to perform effective loss mitigation on delinquent loans,” Raskin said in a speech this week. ...

Use of principal reduction in loan modifications increased in the second quarter of 2011, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Principal reduction has gained popularity for non-agency mortgages after initially being used almost exclusively on portfolio loans. Some 8,645 principal reduction mods were completed by major banks and thrifts in the second quarter of 2011, according to the OCC. Non-agency mortgages accounted for 48.9 percent of all principal reduction mods in the second quarter of 2011, with portfolio mortgages accounting for the rest of the activity. ...

The Treasury Department has not sufficiently enforced rules for newer components of the Home Affordable Modification Program, according to a review released last week by the Government Accountability Office. Treasury officials acknowledge that the agency has not met all of the GAO’s recommendations but made no guarantees of tighter enforcement. “Treasury has experienced challenges in implementing the newer Making Home Affordable programs,” the GAO said, citing problems with the Principal Reduction Alternative, Second Lien Modification and Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives programs.

Ocwen Financial’s purchase of Litton Loan Servicing at the beginning of this month was contingent on the non-prime servicer implementing new practices based on an agreement with New York regulators. The Federal Reserve also took an enforcement action against Goldman Sachs last week relating to Litton’s servicing practices. “Our agreement sets a new higher standard for the residential mortgage servicing industry,” said Benjamin Lawsky, New York’s superintendent of financial services. “Goldman Sachs, Ocwen and Litton have now all agreed to put the rights of homeowners ahead of their profit margins by implementing these changes.” ...

Mortgage investing firm MountainView Capital Holdings partnered with Statebridge Company, an “investor-focused” servicer, to win an auction of loans sold by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last week. Together, the firms won a 40.0 percent interest in a $282.0 million portfolio of residential mortgages from 48 failed banks. Statebridge will service the mortgages and Geneva House, an affiliate of Statebridge, was a minority investor in the deal. Officials with the firms counted the auction win as a major achievement – neither had won any previous structured transaction risk-sharing auctions by the FDIC. ...

The amount of subprime mortgages outstanding as of the second quarter of 2011 has declined by nearly 50 percent compared with the market’s peak of $1.0 trillion in the second quarter of 2007, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. However, subprime servicers have reasons to be optimistic, according to industry analysts.Subprime mortgage delinquencies increased in the first and second quarters of 2011 after declining throughout 2010 ... [includes one data chart]

Walter Investment Management is looking to capitalize on its recent acquisition of special servicer Green Tree and continue to grow. Officials with Walter said the company currently services a $40 billion portfolio and is on pace for a servicing portfolio of at least $60 billion by the end of this year. “We feel very good about our ability to get our fair share and more of what’s available in the market,” said Denmar Dixon, vice chairman of the board and executive vice president at Walter. ...

After negotiations related to losses deadlocked, American Home Mortgage Servicing this week filed a lawsuit against Lender Processing Services and its affiliate, DocX. The non-prime servicer is seeking to recover losses from LPS relating to faulty assignments of non-agency mortgages set for foreclosure. The lawsuit follows more than a year of negotiations between the companies as American Home attempted to recover millions of dollars in losses. LPS said it was surprised by the lawsuit and that American Home had refused to provide evidence of actual losses suffered. ...

Non-agency servicers are increasingly turning to short sales as a better option than foreclosure for borrowers, mortgage-backed security investors and servicers, according to industry analysts.“In addition to helping to sell the property at a higher price, a short sale can also lower loss severities by shortening the amount of time over which expenses can accrue, by reducing the total amount of principal and interest that the servicer must advance on the loan, and by eliminating legal costs associated with foreclosure,” according to Moody’s Investors Service. ...