Servicing

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to address the growing problem of vacant and abandoned properties that banks and mortgage servicers have walked away from to avoid maintaining the homes.

Holders of residential mortgage-backed securities are planning to communicate with trustees and master servicers about Ocwen Financial’s practices, according to the Association of Mortgage Investors.

Hope LoanPort has started new collaborative partnerships with several national organizations to collectively provide foreclosure-related fraud prevention assistance to homeowners.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act played a key role in helping underwater homeowners keep their homes after the crash. But it may also have unwittingly encouraged strategic default.

As interest rates increase, prepayment speeds are falling precipitously, extending the maturities of mortgage-backed securities, especially the guaranteed variety. This trend is likely to cause future declines in MBS values.

USMI, the new trade group being formed to replace the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America, will include all of the active carriers in the industry – except AIG's United Guaranty.

HSBC Holdings and Wells Fargo agreed to settle lawsuits by mortgage holders who alleged they were forced to pay for property insurance at inflated rates.

In the judicial foreclosure states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, savings for various stakeholders could amount to at least $24 million annually, researchers at the Cleveland Fed estimate.

Mortgage Technology is pleased to begin accepting nominations for the 2014 Top 50 Service Providers.

The nomination form is available on MT's website. Click here to access the application.

A jump in lender-paid policies would come at an inopportune time for the industry, which faces new regulatory requirements for such insurance, underscoring the need to educate borrowers why it is necessary.