Servicing

Wells Fargo is expanding its commercial real estate operations in the United Kingdom.

FCI Lender Services has passed a SOC 1/Statement on Standards Attestation Engagements No. 16 “superaudit” of service organization controls and become a ranked special servicer.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has expanded the small servicer exemption fivefold to include community banks and credit unions that service up to 5,000 mortgages.

Residential Capital won court approval to try to sell a pool of defaulted loans with a balance of about $130 million.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slid two basis points to 3.38% in Freddie Mac’s latest weekly survey.

Foreclosure activity in 2012 increased in 25 states, with the majority using the court system to file the foreclosure.

Noninterest income in the fourth quarter at PNC Financial Services Group was impacted by the previously announced $254 million provision related to mortgage loan repurchase requests.

In an interview, Morris Morgan, the federal government's point man for the painstaking review of 3.8 million mortgage loans, provided new details about the $8.5 billion deal regulators cut with 10 servicers last week and how it almost fell apart during negotiations.

CoreLogic reports an additional 100,000 borrowers moved from negative to positive equity status during the third quarter of 2012.

Bank of America saw its profits fall in the fourth quarter after several mortgage-related problems were settled as a result of the financial crisis.