Amilda Dymi

Research data and analysis are adding up to industry fears that the Federal Housing Administration’s sharp loan volume increase of recent years is moving the agency “into uncharted, risky territory” making it more crucial than ever for policy makers to come up with “a delicate balancing act” that would ensure the FHA “is not pushed too far.”

Servicers are facing a challenging future where the way they redefine their risk-pricing measures will determine their ability to survive.What makes the challenge unprecedented, MBA’s chief economist Jay Brinkmann said at the National Mortgage Servicing Conference in Dallas, is a business environment where lenders are forced to take risks they have no control over.

Todd Whittemore, the newly appointed executive vice president of master risk management of Digital Risk LLC, Maitland, Fla., attended the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Mortgage Servicing Conference in Dallas to stay current on market issues and trends in servicing demand.

Servicers are bracing for a challenging future where the way they redefine their risk-pricing measures will determine their ability to survive.

The January Lender Processing Services, Inc. Mortgage Monitor report once again shows that if there is a light at the end of the tunnel it is still quite far away as the number of properties that are 30 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure remains at a staggering 6.922 million.

Fourth-quarter delinquency rate data show slight overall improvements and reiterate the drivers of change are staunchly local and not that promising for the near future.

Face-to-face mortgage counseling is by industry consensus the most efficient way to prevent foreclosures. The problem is that the number of those who could benefit from this type of counseling, those who are trying to and those who actually show up to meet with the lender are not always a match.

Saxon Infotech Inc. of Columbia, Md., has launched a Housing Research Group, whose stated goal is to help identify the need for advocacy and new policy that would “address and solve current issues and curb future crisis.”Executives said it is a “mission-critical” project.

Mortgage servicing may be changing and self-adjusting into a new still-not completely undefined model, but the fact that it appears to be a work in progress is not discouraging bankers from eyeing what it has to offer.Without much fanfare the crisis has irreversibly turned in-house mortgage servicing and specialty servicing into hot markets.

Despite recovery concerns at least one insider sees the glass as half full in the mortgage market.Real estate risk exposure factors affecting mortgage lenders, servicers and investors right now remain the same.

Regulatory changes such as the pending definition of what consists of a qualified residential mortgage have increased perceived and real mortgage investment risk.Meanwhile, the Dodd-Frank Act requirement—which could be described as a call to arms so the mortgage industry gets back to what used to be good old fashioned underwriting standards—is to some extent open for discussion.

One consequence of the prolonged financial crisis is the amelioration of its business structures and processing through new legislation and lessons learned on the ground. And investors are at the forefront of efforts trying to ensure that potential outcome becomes a reality.

Today’s hot topic in the mortgage world is about how loan servicing will be valued. LendingTree’s chief executive Cameron Findlay says it is about time since existing systems—designed for and proven to work well in normal market conditions—clearly are inefficient in the current market.

The Warren Group reports an increase in bankruptcy filings in 2010 compared to 2009 in Massachusetts and Connecticut, which ultimately reflect the region's unstable economic welfare and dissolves hopes for a fast path towards recovery.

Despite declines in the hardest-hit areas, according to the RealtyTrac 2010 Year-End Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report, foreclosure activity increased from 2009. And the main culprit is unemployment.

Despite budding economic improvements funding and liquidity hardships may persist in 2011, especially for small businesses. More resources, however, may be available in not so traditional places.

Sometimes local solutions can ease up the lack of a credit challenge many small businesses are currently facing. Size works to their advantage as small shops have more agility and flexibility to adapt to market demands and in the process promote community growth, which is why any size assistance can help.

From changing social behavior to defining business conduct, the explosion of social technology tools through MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are expected to dramatically revise organizational existence in 2011.“We ain’t seen nothing yet,” says technology innovation expert Scott Klososky, author of “Enterprise Social Technology,” one of the first books to focus on online publicity.

The crisis has turned field service providers—often called the servicers’ boots on the ground—into a primary liaison that is helping improve a crucial dialogue between the servicing industry, local code enforcement officials and foreclosure prevention entities nationwide.

An ever-changing regulatory environment is challenging everyone from servicers to foreclosure attorneys and their clients creating demand for simple services that may go a long way in benefiting all parties involved in the mortgage chain.