Servicing

In January all the mortgage industry was aflutter with talk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—under the tutelage of their regulator—were weighing a change to minimum servicing fees. Almost seven months later no change has come and most servicers are working under the proposition that the whole idea is pretty much forgotten. Except that it’s not.

Mortgage industry groups are calling for the creation of a strong safe harbor clause that will shield lenders from litigation if they originate loans that comply with ‘Qualified Mortgage’ underwriting standards.

Evangelical Christian Credit Union, Riverside, Calif., has been granted permission by a federal bankruptcy court to foreclose on a 22-acre property owned by the Life Church of God in Christ where Lehman Brothers had a junior mortgage.

Wholesaling veteran Al Cristany has accepted a position with 360Mortgage Group, Austin, Texas, one of the few lenders that funds exclusively in the broker channel.

Mortgage, housing, and even local politicians are stepping up pressure on congressional appropriators to extend the maximum $729,750 loan limit on government-backed loans for another year, fearing that a failure to act will damage already stressed real estate markets.

The announcement by Genworth Financial that it recently strengthened reserves at its U.S. mortgage insurance unit by $300 million "provides another reminder that the debate over ultimate reserve levels at MI companies is far from over," according to a new report from FBR Capital Markets.

Fitch Ratings late Thursday provided an unsolicited preliminary assessment of a City Center Trust 2011-CCHP CMBS deal that differs in terms of investment grade ratings assigned to the most junior class of the transaction.

Whole Loan Capital, LLC, is auctioning off a $553 million portfolio of GSE and bank residential servicing rights.

Astoria Financial Corp., Lake Success, N.Y., is predicting its balance sheet will grow during the second-half as residential conforming loan limits are reduced – which helps its retained portfolio – and it reenters the multifamily space.

Short sale timelines and completions are improving, but servicing executives also know their industry can have better results in the government-backed Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, according to panelists at this week’s Best Practices in Loss Mitigation Conference in Dallas, sponsored by National Mortgage News.