Servicing

FDIC chairman Sheila Bair is calling on residential servicers to step up their efforts to modify loans and compensate homeowners harmed by the foreclosure process as part of a settlement with the federal government.

For the third week in a row mortgage application volume increased as refinance apps have reached their highest level since the start of December, according to new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Federal banking regulators have nearly completed their reviews of the foreclosure processing problems at the nation's megabanks and will be briefing the companies' senior management on their findings soon.

Citigroup reported single-family mortgage originations of $21.8 billion in the fourth quarter, up 17% from the prior period.

WASHINGTON—Multifamily occupancy and rents rates have held up fairly well during the deep recession, yet delinquencies on securitized multifamily loans recently hit a record high in December.It appears the problem is not a question of bad properties or low occupancy rates, says Trepp managing director Manus Clancy.

Remodeling may seem passé as the mortgage market and the economy at large strive to recover from the crisis, but research findings along with insider’s expectations show it is anything but. Far from a stagnant activity it is “poised for growth.”

The share of adjustable-rate mortgages will rise to 9% of the home purchase market later this year, up from 7% at the current time and 3% in early 2009, according to Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft. This was among the findings of the company's 27th annual ARM survey.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency confirmed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are exploring possible changes to mortgage servicer compensation, but said implementation is unlikely before the summer of 2012.

U.S. banks exported billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities losses to their peers in Germany and elsewhere in Europe before the housing collapse. Now those overseas institutions may join the effort to put back some of the losses.

The overall economy has moved from a fragile recovery to firmer, less volatile growth, but the housing market is not expected to grow accordingly until 2012, according to the latest Fannie Mae economic outlook.