Servicing

Congress is not likely to pass recently proposed legislation that would reform the Home Affordable Refinance Program and promote competition among mortgage servicers, according to analysts at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

President Obama traveled to a couple's home in Reno, Nev., on Friday in his effort to pressure Congress into passing legislation that would allow more Americans to refinance their mortgages.

The California Association of Realtors and the California District Attorneys Association have launched a campaign to warn homeowners about the alarming increase in scams targeting foreclosure victims.

Although Nationstar has agreed to buy most of Residential Capital Corp.’s mortgage assets, the sale is by no means a done deal, according to ResCap CEO Tom Marano.

Under the servicing settlement, state funds are supposed to be used “to avoid preventable foreclosures” and “ameliorate the effects of the foreclosure crisis.”

The owners of a Los Angeles-based real estate company were charged last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission with violating antifraud and securities registration provisions by defrauding investors through a business that had false track records.

It’s not easy being a GSE, executives speaking as the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Secondary Market Conference in New York made clear last week.

The government controlled Ally Financial Monday morning said its board has voted to place Residential Capital LLC into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while it finalizes a deal to sell substantially all of its assets to Nationstar Mortgage for $4 billion. In total, 50 ResCap affiliates are affected by the filing.

Is the mortgage industry in the throes of what might turn out to be a lengthy and profitable recovery? Let’s look at the signs: Fannie Mae just posted a hefty profit, Freddie Mac has earned money on an operating basis for at least two quarters in a row, many lenders are enjoying strong profit margins and the HARP program appears to be humming along. Optimists might have reason to pop some champagne.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has dismissed one of the consultants overseeing a massive foreclosure review after it discovered a conflict of interest in outside work the company has performed.