Servicing

The Federal Housing Administration has landed two big lenders to adopt its principal reduction program which helps underwater homeowners refinance into new FHA-insured loans.

Mortgage insurer Triad Guaranty, which is in "wind down" mode, earned $27 million in the fourth quarter and $132 million for the full year, making it (so far) the only publicly traded MI in the U.S. to post positive results in 4Q.

Sperry Associates Federal Credit Union this week sold The Inn at The Blue in East Marion, N.Y., for $2.02 million, in an REO sale.

MERSCORP, the electronic mortgage registry system, said it will propose a rule to stop its member/users from foreclosing in its name.

The Comptroller of the Currency is preparing to levy civil money penalties against some of the nation's largest servicers for violations of state and local foreclosure laws.

The national residential delinquency rate fell by 10% in the fourth quarter to 8.22%, the lowest reading in two years, according to figures released Thursday morning by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Federal regulators and state Attorneys General may be close to a settlement with several major mortgage servicers over foreclosure processing violations, according to Federal Housing Commissioner David Stevens.

Alarmed by significant deficiencies uncovered as part of a regulatory review of residential servicing practices, federal banking agencies are preparing formal enforcement actions against the largest players in the receivables market that they hope will set de facto standards across the industry, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Mortgage Contracting Services LLC has made available a new product called REO Check that servicers can use as assistance for on-site assessments of foreclosed inventory throughout the REO lifecycle.

California home sales increased 5% between December and January but the median transaction price fell by almost 9%, according to the California Association of Realtors.