Servicing

A UBS Group AG unit suffered a setback in a $2 billion lawsuit over allegedly defective mortgages after a judge said it violated contracts with three mortgage-backed securities trusts.

Affiliates of Goldman Sachs, Lone Star Funds and Neuberger Berman are among the winners of Fannie Mae’s latest nonperforming loans auction.

Mortgage servicing has undergone a dramatic transformation in response to the housing crisis, creating an environment where a focus on the consumer will define how servicers approach their business and regulators oversee their operations.

In order for the mortgage industry and its technology to evolve in the future, lenders and servicers must redefine their expectations for connectivity and demand more open integrations between the systems they use.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of National Mortgage News, we look to the future of the mortgage industry — a future that lies at the intersection of people, policy, technology and capital.

So long as government-backed entities are guaranteeing 90% of originations, competition that could result in greater mortgage options for borrowers is being stifled. But a return of private capital to the market, possibly through securitization, could fix that.

Over the next 40 years, the rate of homeownership is likely to continue to decline further as changes in demographic trends, increased regulation and stagnant incomes make that dream harder to achieve.

The events of the past 40 years pale in comparison to the strides the mortgage industry has made with technology, from pen-and-paper processes to handheld interest rate checks in minutes. The most exciting part: the best is yet to come.

It was 1976, the year of the U.S. Bicentennial, the dawn of Apple Computer and supersonic commercial flight aboard the Concorde jet. The average rate for a 30-year mortgage was 8.87% and the median sales price of existing homes was $38,100. And in an apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side, National Mortgage News was born.

From helping to create one of the first loan origination systems to setting the stage for the financial crisis, these 10 people left an indelible mark on the mortgage industry. But where are they now?