The Securities and Exchange Commission has largely wrapped up its enforcement on structured finance issues related to the financial crisis, according to current and former officials at the federal regulator. The SEC’s Complex Financial Instruments Unit is now focusing on more recent issues in the structured finance sector. “The unit has now shifted its attention to the next frontier, and I expect it to zero in on the structuring, rating, valuation, sale, and use of other types of complex financial products, such as commercial MBS, structured notes and credit default swaps,” Andrew Ceresney, the director of the SEC’s division of enforcement, said in May. Stephen Crimmins, a partner at the law firm of K&L Gates who previously worked at the SEC for 14 years, said...

The bloodletting in Bank of America's servicing division continued this month with the megabank giving pink slips to hundreds of workers.

We continue to hear plenty of talk about mortgage mergers and acquisitions with deal announcements likely to come between early July and late August.

Two cases, Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association and Nickols v. Mortgage Bankers Association, are the heart of the dispute.

Declining mortgage debt is good news for consumers, but not-so-good news for lenders. Then again, this trend can't last. Or can it?

Is the stock of PHH Corp. so depressed that it's a screaming "buy"?

The OCC believes that HAMP loans perform better than proprietary mods because the program places an emphasis on reduced monthly payments, debt-to-income ratios and income verification. Servicers also receive incentive payments.

“Rather than earning on the front end, they’re increasing margins on the secondary sale," said mortgage analyst Ken Richey.

What does the future hold for the hedge fund-owned Prospect Mortgage?

The market for large "legacy" MSR deals appears to be ice cold. Then again, last week there were rumors that a $50 billion transaction might be in the works.