Two companies that were created earlier in the decade to buy mortgage servicing rights at rock-bottom prices are headed in different directions these days: Seneca Mortgage Servicing is exiting the business, while Pingora Loan Servicing is slated to change hands for the second time in a year. As Inside Mortgage Finance went to press this week, investment banker Houlihan Lokey was involved in direct negotiations to sell Seneca’s $53.6 billion servicing portfolio, which is considered pristine in nature. Investment banking sources said...

In the SEC filing, Annaly reveals that it owns servicing assets through an “ongoing joint venture with a leading sovereign wealth fund.” The SWF was not identified…

According to the offering circular, the Ginnie receivables total $1.40 billion and carry an overall delinquency ratio of 6.60 percent.

Walter Investment, the parent of Ditech, is considered a turnaround situation...

Fresh off agreeing to buy $20 billion in mortgage servicing rights and production assets from New York Community Bancorp, Freedom Mortgage is in the hunt for more deals. “We’re looking and we’ve had people approach us with opportunities,” company founder and CEO Stanley Middleman told Inside Mortgage Finance. “We’re working on several MSR acquisitions right now.” Middleman declined...

In the same new regulatory filing, PHH also noted that Kathryn Ruggieri stepped down as the lender’s chief human resources officer effective June 30…

We haven’t see a whole lot of servicing auction notices the past two weeks...

Overall, NYCB will earn, on a pre-tax basis, $90 million by exiting the residential finance sector…

One possible snag is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

One industry consultant who expects a lot of activity this year is David Lykken, president of Transformational Mortgage Solutions.