Servicing

Borrowers delinquent on their mortgage payments are more likely to avoid foreclosure by receiving loan modifications when they attend counseling services, according to published reports.

Sen. Sherrod Brown is urging government negotiators to force banks to pay for a potential mortgage servicing settlement out of their own pockets, rather than by writing down the value of mortgage-backed securities owned by investors.

The mortgage industry has taken one for the team in the way the payroll tax reduction extension has been funded, at least partially, by an increase in government housing agency guarantee fees. But in my view, once is more than enough.

The national delinquency rate remained at 8.15% at the end of December, the same as the prior month, according to Lender Processing Services' "first look" mortgage report.

Yesterday news broke from HUD secretary Shaun Donovan that a robosigning deal was imminent. Today, we learn that maybe a deal isn't as close as Donovan portrayed. Then again, the 'State of the Union' address is next week and there is some talk that President Obama wants to mention the robo settlement using the speech as yet another opportunity to bash the mortgage banking industry.

Carrington Holding Company and Oaktree Capital Management have reached an agreement to purchase $450 million in distressed single-family properties throughout the country and rent out these housing units.

The average weekly primary market rate for a 30-year mortgage in Freddie Mac's survey inched down by a basis point to 3.88% during the week ending Jan. 19, setting the bar for the lowest rate for this loan has ever had just a little bit lower.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the ongoing settlement talks between the federal government, state attorneys general, and the nation's largest servicers has produced a "package of programs that we believe will be very positive" for the housing market.

A New York probe has brought national attention to servicers' alleged self-dealing in the sale of force-placed insurance. But the investigation is just one of many looming challenges to the practice.

The head of the Mortgage Bankers Association is calling on his brethren at other trade groups to work together with MBA to forge coordinated policies to "reestablish a vibrant" housing finance system in the U.S.