Servicing

Mortgage rates continued their race to the basement, setting new lows for the week ending Nov. 11, according to a new survey compiled by Freddie Mac.

TPG Capital's purchase of the property information division of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates puts the California-based private equity firm squarely in the middle of the foreclosure crisis.

Mortgage underwriting standards have become "excessively tight" and the Federal Housing Administration and GSEs need to "reassess and amend their policies," according to the National Association of Realtors

Moody's Investors Service Inc. has weighed in on the widespread foreclosure-document problems with a report questioning whether document custodians followed industry standards in tracking and holding original mortgages notes in their files. It also identified specific document defects that could prevent servicers from foreclosing.

Citigroup, an active seller of nonperforming residential loans, recently sold a $1.4 billion pool of multifamily and commercial mortgages to OneWest Bank FSB, Pasadena, Calif., for an undisclosed sum.

Assurant Group defended its force-placed insurance business practices and relationships with mortgage servicers Wednesday, as its stock fell 11% following publication of an American Banker story examining the company's niche.

Foreclosure activity topped 330,000 units in October, a 4% decline from September — but only because of the national robo-gate scandal, according to new figures compiled by RealtyTrac, Irvine, Calif.

A number of new trends in the U.S. home mortgage industry are impacting servicers' ability to move problem loans efficiently through the default resolution process.

BlackRock Inc. hopes to invest upwards of $1 billion in jumbo mortgages with the hope of eventually issuing securities backed by the loans, according to secondary market officials familiar with the plan.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., reported core earnings of $7.9 million in the third quarter, a five-fold increase compared to the same period last year.