Servicing

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Thursday dismissed a civil claim filed against Lender Processing Services by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which accused the mortgage vendor of gross negligence in appraisals conducted for the now defunct Washington Mutual, Seattle.

Selene Finance, a specialty servicer/loan modification company controlled by Lewis Ranieri, has hired Larry Litton Jr., and a handful of top managers from Litton Loan Servicing, Houston, according to servicing executives that have done business with the firm.

Redwood Trust, the only firm to publicly issue jumbo MBS the past two years, earned just $1 million in the third quarter, but its acquisition of nonconforming product in the secondary market jumped by 166%.

A proposal from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop their own anti-money laundering programs as part of an ongoing effort to combat mortgage fraud.

The outcry against the financial sector has taken yet another turn, this time with a petition calling on the Minneapolis School Board to move its payroll and other accounts from Wells Fargo to a local community bank as a way to highlight the connection between foreclosures and local school systems.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has the expertise to set servicing, underwriting, and mortgage securitization standards that could lead to the development of a private-label MBS market, according to the GSE regulator.

A Senate panel wants the chief GSE regulator to explain why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives continue to receive millions of dollars in bonus money for running the giant mortgage companies which continually need government assistance to stay afloat.

Ally Financial Corp. this week announced what it calls "modest" layoffs in its correspondent lending division, but declined to specify how many workers were cut.

Efforts to reinstate the $729,750 maximum loan limit for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA loans has garnered the support of 137 House members, including 25 Republicans.

With the winter months quickly approaching, there seems to be an ominous picture for national home prices.