The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s new “servicing project” will take a close look at how large-scale packages of mortgage-servicing rights are sold and transferred, but will also delve into what mortgage bankers thought was a dead issue: minimum servicing fees paid to processors. “You might say that FHFA is tackling the whole servicing arena in a big way,” said one mortgage consultant who has been briefed on the agency’s plans. The regulator’s sudden interest in transfers comes...
It’s been several years since a top-10 ranked lender changed hands, but it could happen this year with speculation falling on PHH Mortgage and Flagstar Bancorp. Both firms own large servicing portfolios but have sold servicing “strips” while retaining a subservicing relationship with the consumer. Investment banking sources and competitors familiar with the two say a sale of either is...
The fast growing nonbank servicer/lender also disclosed a preliminary fourth quarter profit in the range of $101 million to $106 million, a 50 percent jump from the prior period.
Meanwhile, MountainView Servicing Group is also in the market with a new MSR offering: $224 million of receivables backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac product.
One servicing advisor told IMFnews that the regulator “now has the last word on all MSR transfer approvals. It began in December and has slowed the process a bit.”
The hunger for GSE speculation is also causing some investors to buy Fannie/Freddie common which has been rising of late, but not by much. However, one GSE watcher believes that buying the common, "is a fool’s game."
Moody’s notes that all three have grown their production operations – a positive – but question whether over the long term whether they can compete with banks in the “prime” market.
RSS