Servicing

Vertical Capital Markets Group, Irvine, Calif., this week launched a new fund that invests primarily in assets of residential performing loans secured by first mortgages or deeds of trust.

Home Savings of America in Little Falls, Minn., has scuttled - for now - its merger with Cornerstone Mortgage after one of the bank's private equity investors backed out of the deal, according to a memo provided to National Mortgage News.

American Home Mortgage Servicing, a company controlled by investor Wilbur Ross, recently explored buying the wholesale division of MetLife Home Loans, but for now has put the idea on hold, according to industry advisors familiar with the matter.

It looks like Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller won't be getting his Christmas wish this year. Miller, who is leading the settlement talks with the top five mortgage servicers, said earlier this month that the settlement should be reached by the holiday.

Fannie Mae's chief economist is warning that the United States has a 40% chance of slipping into a double-dip recession in 2012.

The Senate over the weekend added an increase in FHA premiums to the payroll tax bill, passing the measure by an overwhelming margin of 89-10.

Tom Palmer, a senior executive in the correspondent lending division of MetLife Home Loans, recently left the company, accepting a position with the privately held Freedom Mortgage Corp., Fishers, Ind., according to industry officials familiar with the matter.

Residential lenders issued $28.4 billion of Government National Mortgage Association-backed MBS in November, a 7% gain from the previous month, according to new figures issued by the agency.

Redwood Trust said it is currently seeing a very robust pipeline of potential CMBS transactions.

Members of a House Financial Services subcommittee are at odds over how to address conflict of interest issues involving the servicing of first and second mortgages.