Servicing

The president and chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association, David Stevens, is stepping down after one year to become the president of SunTrust Mortgage.

Back in the year 2000, when Franklin Raines held the title of chairman and chief executive officer of Fannie Mae, Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., sponsored the Housing Finance Regulatory Improvement Act. This bill not only asked for increased oversight over Fannie and Freddie but also recommended unifying the regulation of Fannie and Freddie under one roof.

Regulators’ efforts to strengthen the oversight of the shadow U.S. banking system, which plays an important role in mortgage-backed securities financing, appear to be paying off.

The Treasury Department’s decision to raise the amount servicers can pay second-mortgage holders for a lien release should give its short sales program a boost, according to an industry expert.

Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday morning that its national home price index fell 2% in the first quarter on a sequential basis.

The NCUA has changed its troubled debt restructuring (TDR) rule to allow credit unions to deem a restructured member mortgage loan current as soon as the loan is closed.

The nation’s megabanks are continuing to sit on their nonperforming residential loans, although some are currently out in the market with mid-sized packages.

Over the past 18 months REITs have raised $26 billion in new equity. Almost all of it has been targeted toward MBS investments. Very little has been plowed into mortgage servicing rights.

The Federal Reserve Board this week released the last details of how two mortgage servicers—Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Finance Corp.—plan to fix problems in their home loan servicing and foreclosure processes.

Credit unions continue their bid to become a real player in the mortgage industry.