Servicing

The question of what should be done with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is drawing wildly different opinions.

Loan servicer C-III Capital Partners LLC has committed to put $10 million into commercial real estate services firm Grubb & Ellis Co., by investing in a line of credit issued earlier this year by Colony Capital LLC.

Real estate reseller Lenders Clearing House Las Vegas has been chosen to participate in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to work with local banks in reducing their large REO inventories in order to revitalize the region's foreclosure market.

Residential lenders issued $350.3 billion of Ginnie Mae MBS in fiscal year 2011, down 15% from the previous fiscal year, according to new figures released by the Government National Mortgage Association.

Home sales fell in September after rising all summer, including a 4% increase in August, according to the Re/Max National Housing Report.

Fitch Ratings said it could cut Bank of America's viability rating one notch if certain concerns regarding the company's exposure to the residential mortgage business are worse than what the rating agency expects.

A new trend in foreclosure filing activity began in the third quarter, according to RealtyTrac's foreclosure market report.

Zombie mortgages, or home loans that are worth more than the underlying collateral of the house, are impeding a recovery in home sales and in the broader economy, according to Barclays Capital chief economist Dean Maki.

The down draft in interest rates forced JPMorgan Chase to take a $4.4 billion (36%) writedown on the value of its mortgage servicing rights in the third quarter, according to information released by the company.

Examiners from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau soon will visit the servicing shops of the nation's largest banks to check on their handling of defaulted borrowers seeking loan modifications or entering the foreclosure process.