Servicing

The RealtyTrac April 2011 Foreclosure Market Report finds the number of foreclosure filings in the month dropped 9% compared to March and 34% from April 2010, largely due to delays in foreclosure processing.

The chief regulator of all GSEs this week told directors of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks that they need to keep an eye on the system’s investment portfolios and executive compensation packages.

As lawmakers take up mortgage servicer standards at a hearing Thursday, the Mortgage Bankers Association is advocating a cautious approach to standard-setting while trying to debunk what it says are misconceptions about servicing.

Morgan Stanley is once again weighing the sale of its residential servicing operation, Saxon Mortgage, according to industry officials familiar with the matter.

In theory, it sounds like a simple idea: assign delinquent borrowers to a single person in the servicing department responsible for guiding them through the loss mitigation process.

Walker & Dunlop Inc., a commercial mortgage banker, has formed an alliance with commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield that will focus on providing their clients multifamily financing (through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Agency) and investment sales services.

In order to maintain vacant properties and the integrity of local neighborhoods, involvement and partnership between municipalities and servicers is imperative.

Hudson & Marshall will be hosting three separate auctions this week in which 85 bank-owned homes will be available for buyers to purchase.

Farmer Mac had net income of $18 million in the first quarter, enhanced by a $9 million gain in the fair value of financial derivatives. The government-sponsored enterprise also saw increased net interest income because of an increase in business volume and releases from its allowance for loan losses.

The National Association of Mortgage Field Services, working in collaboration with Lender Processing Services, has launched a new tool called Alliance that complies with code enforcement requirements.