Kate Berry

Two of the three major nonbank servicers are sticking by plans to acquire portfolios from banks this year, in spite of regulatory scrutiny and concern they are growing too fast.

The second-largest home lender's warning that it will lose money in the business this year is a forceful reminder that the housing market has not fully recovered from the downturn.

Bitter weather, the qualified mortgage rule's restrictive guidelines and the lingering effects of the foreclosure crisis have put a crimp in homebuying at an inopportune time for lenders.

The largest U.S. bank's apartment loan business is mushrooming, aided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac retrenching. Now JPMorgan is refocusing on a market where, surprisingly, it lags: New York.

Prospect Mortgage entered a $3.1 million settlement with California regulators for overcharging mortgage borrowers per diem interest over a seven-year period.

New York's banking regulator unleashed a verbal assault on nonbank servicer Ocwen Financial Wednesday, saying the company's claims about tech-driven efficiencies are "too good to be true."

Regulatory intervention throws a monkey wrench into a mortgage servicer's growth plans—and calls into question whether there are enough nonbanks to absorb all the servicing banks want to sell.

The New York regulator questioned Ocwen’s ability to handle more volume after an independent monitor reviewed the mortgage servicer’s operations, a person familiar with the situation says.

Lynn E. Szymoniak, famous for helping to uncover the robo-signing scandal, is now suing 22 companies for allegedly creating fraudulent documents and submitting tens of thousands of false claims to HUD.

A little-noticed charge taken by Regions Financial in the fourth quarter may portend that other banks have not been adequately reserving for modified home loans, known as troubled debt restructurings.

The government-sponsored enterprise is keeping a running list of appraisers that it views as shady and is warning banks and mortgage lenders to be careful about doing business with them.

A Moody's report suggests that roughly a dozen regional banks are at risk of sustaining meaningful credit losses on home-equity lines of credit that were originated in the boom years and are scheduled to reset over the next three years.

Some banks will be leery about originating loans to the self-employed because they can't document their ability to repay, but others insist that such loans, even outside of QM, are too lucrative to ignore.

Despite the risks, lenders have calculated that certain loans that fall outside of QM are worth making and holding on their balance sheets.

So far, the big mortgage servicers have received stellar report cards for their compliance with the $25 billion national settlement. That could change this year as testing gets tougher—potentially costing these companies further embarrassment and penalties.

A hike in guarantee fees could encourage banks to retain loans they might have otherwise sold to Fannie or Freddie, but observers are skeptical that it will accomplish its true mission of jump-starting the market for private-label mortgage securitizations.

The g-fee changes should encourage further return of private capital to the mortgage market, says Ed Demarco, as the price changes provide better protection of and return to taxpayers who are providing the capital support that keeps these companies operating.

Though bankers generally applauded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's final rule on mortgage disclosures, they are raising concerns that some of the changes need to be fixed or they'll have no choice but to assess higher fees at the closing.

Nationstar, Ocwen and Walter Investment picked a tough time to make an aggressive push into mortgage lending, but their efforts could pay off once new mortgage rules kick in.

Concern is mounting that Nationstar, Ocwen Financial and Walter Investment are getting so big so quickly that they are becoming too difficult to manage and should consider tapping the brakes on acquisitions.