Servicing

CoreLogic said recently hired financial advisory firm Greenhill & Co. will evaluate the company's financial strategy and “explore a wide range of options aimed at enhancing shareholder value,” up to and including a possible sale or merger of the Santa Ana, Calif.-based provider of mortgage and property data, analytics, technology and services.

Future mortgage-backed securities repurchase disputes could go through independent third-party reviews and possibly binding arbitration as part of model principles for them released by the American Securitization Forum Tuesday.

Mortgage-related securities issuers have to decide whether to maintain their ability to come to market regularly in tough times or whether it might be wiser to wait for calmer waters.

Home prices rose 1.1% in June after a 1% increase in May as values in 19 of the 20 metropolitan areas tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index registered monthly gains.

Municipalities are increasingly holding mortgage securitization trustsliable for the upkeep of properties, which could affect investors'cashflows, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service.

Mortgage Banking Solutions, Woodway, Texas, says it is currently working on four merger-related transactions with announcements on two of them coming shortly.

Lenders would compete to refinance underwater mortgages if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stopped demanding "put backs" when new loans default, according to mortgage strategists at Bank of America/ Merrill Lynch.

Even if the White House can pull off a large scale refinancing program to help troubled homeowners it likely won't help the mortgage insurance industry much, according to a new report from FBR Capital Markets.

The Obama administration is finally realizing that a major refinancing program to help troubled borrowers could help stabilize the housing market and give the economy a jolt—and it would be particularly effective if it reaches an estimated 11 million underwater mortgagors.

Freddie Mac's fraud investigation unit is reaching out to Realtor associations and real estate agents to educate them about how to prevent fraudulent short-sale activities from taking place.