Servicing

Ocwen Financial is fighting back against a group of large bondholders that have accused the Atlanta mortgage servicer of improper servicing practices and an alleged breach of trust.

Ocwen Financial Corp. said investors in mortgage-backed securities who criticized its servicing policies are trying to force more foreclosures.

Nationwide foreclosure activity in February approached its lowest point since the financial crisis, mortgage analytics firm Black Knight Financial Services concluded in its monthly "first look" report.

Freddie Mac is selling more than $1 billion of soured U.S. home loans in its largest sale of the debt. Potential buyers are bidding on three pools of nonperforming loans, with unpaid principal balances of about $660 million, $249 million and $125 million.

Many housing markets have seen more homes become trapped underwater during the fourth quarter although the nationwide negative equity rate didn't change, according to analytic firm Zillow.

Ocwen Financial has delayed filing its 2014 results and announced the sale of more servicing rights. The embattled Atlanta servicer was initially expected to report fourth-quarter and full-year results on Monday.

Lennar Corp., the second largest U.S. homebuilder, is raising its bet on rental housing as the pace of sales continues to drag.

Citigroup's failure to pay 24,000 people owed money as part of a settlement with the government over foreclosure abuses has prompted Maxine Waters, the senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, to call for an investigation into whether banks missed other borrowers.

Wells Fargo is partnering with the National League of Cities to offer a webinar designed to mitigate foreclosures to the general public.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a contentious policy Thursday allowing customers to describe their banking experiences more fully on the agency's complaint portal.