Servicing

A new report issued by the National Credit Union Administration blames the agency's Office of Corporate Credit Unions for failing to identify a high concentration of risky MBS at the now defunct Southwest Corporate Credit Union of Texas, a $12 billion institution.

Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore., has agreed to sell about $108 million of problem loans, generating $58 million in proceeds in an effort to remain well capitalized.

Boston Federal Reserve Bank president Eric Rosengren wants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to do more to refinance homeowners and address housing market problems.

With housing prices falling and the number of vacant properties on the rise, banks are under pressure from regulators to improve their loss mitigation success rates.

After the Obama administration recently requested lenders and servicers to propose alternative rental approaches for their REO properties, Green River Capital has made enhancements to its rental and property management program.

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating several residential servicing shops for abusive practices – including inaccurate payment records and charging excessive fees -- according to FTC associate director Joel Winston.

With the fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac up in the air, credit unions should pool their resources to create an alternative entity that can handle securitization and other functions currently fulfilled by the two government-sponsored entities.

As the nation's largest banks are facing lawsuits and being investigated by attorneys general and other regulators, many of their servicing problems and abuses continue to hurt homeowners.

Among the ideas surfacing as the government works on interest rate and housing policy interventions aimed at bolstering the economy is a plan for financing bulk REO sales for renting to private investors that could be structured in a manner similar to TALF/PPIP, an approach some securities analysts said recently they are favoring.

LoopNet, a company that tracks all commercial real estate transactions nationwide including office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hotel, land, specialty properties and businesses for sale, has made changes to improve its database.