Servicing

The Mortgage Bankers Association said it is now adamantly opposed to any radical change in servicing compensation and has launched a "call to action" campaign, urging its members to heavily lobby the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Foreclosure filings involving default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions were down 3% in November across the country from the previous month, according to RealtyTrac's latest foreclosure report.

The Comptroller of the Currency is advising banks to review their foreclosure policies and procedures, urging them to address the risks associated with taking possession of homes, acquiring the properties and becoming the actual owner.

Former FHA commissioner David Stevens, who now heads the Mortgage Bankers Association, says hiking GSE guarantee fees to fund an extension of the payroll tax cut is "bad policy," calling such a maneuver a "slippery slope."

The backlog of real estate-owned homes held by banks and the government is "staggering," Fitch Inc. said this week.

Neil Barofsky, the former special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, this week hammered the Obama Administration and Treasury Department at a panel discussion on the foreclosure crisis, saying fears of a political backlash led to the administration's tepid response to the housing crisis and refusal to back principal reductions.

Outstanding mortgage debt secured by apartment buildings rose to $806 billion at Sept. 30, a $4.1 billion increase (up 0.5%) from mid-year, according to new figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Ranieri Real Estate Partners LP, New York, has established two new advisory services groups and as part of the initiative signed a definitive agreement to acquire boutique investment banking and advisory firm, Occom Capital Partners LLC, which has offices in New York and Portland, Maine.

A new report indicates unexpected changes in geographic patterns that helped cause nearly $20 billion in flood and hurricane losses to homeowners and lenders in 2011 call for a re-evaluation of existing emergency plans and insurance options.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, through an affiliate, has increased an existing repurchase agreement with Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Capital.