The transfer of bulk mortgage servicing rights was strong in the second quarter but dealmakers didn’t really feel it in the auction market. Investment bankers believe the second half could see strong MSR sale activity.
The Social Security Administration has closed the enrollment period for financial institutions to participate in a new fee-based, automated program to verify individuals’ Social Security numbers for lending purposes.
It's no secret that Ginnie Mae officials are losing sleep over nonbanks dominating the government MBS market. With liquidity a primary concern, the agency is ready to consider "non-traditional" investors in its MSRs. But there's a catch: They may have to commit as much as $1 billion.
Subservicing vendors continued to grow during the first quarter but a few firms saw a reduction in contracts. Cenlar remained the dominant player but Mr. Cooper, Flagstar and Ocwen are eager to compete. Meanwhile, consolidation looms.
The National Association of Realtors this week picked apart FHFA's plan to recapitalize the GSEs and release them from conservatorship. NAR, by the way, favors a model where the GSEs are morphed into shareholder-owned utilities.
Possibly dozens of VA lenders have been handed subpoenas from the federal government tied to VA delinquencies and possibly loan churning. Is this a fishing expedition or something more? Needless to say, lenders are worried.
Ditech is about to lose a huge subservicing contract that it has with New Residential Investment Corp. A handful of subservicing vendors are considered finalists to replace Ditech, including market leader Cenlar and the number-three ranked LoanCare.
It appears that RoundPoint Mortgage is once again on the auction block. This time around, it looks as though the $90.5 billion residential servicer will be sold to top-ranked Freedom Mortgage, Stan Middleman's shop. But it's not a done deal, sources say, at least not yet.
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