Servicing

The National Credit Union Administration has proposed a new investment rule that eliminates the need to obtain top grades from Wall Street rating agencies, replacing it instead with the judgment of a credit union's management.

The Government National Mortgage Association's MBS program has experienced unprecedented growth the past two years and now the agency wants to nearly triple its allotment for salaries to $30 million, allowing it to hire additional staff while reducing its dependence on outside contractors.

The January Lender Processing Services, Inc. Mortgage Monitor report once again shows that if there is a light at the end of the tunnel it is still quite far away as the number of properties that are 30 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure remains at a staggering 6.922 million.

Fresh off its first-ever time hosting the Super Bowl, the Dallas-Fort Worth region will play host to the Mortgage Bankers Association and its National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo.

Among the hot topics Brent Taggart, a senior vice president at Green River Capital, anticipates and wants to hear more about at the MBA’s servicing conference is short sales.

The robo-signing fiasco only highlighted the fact that having the paperwork in order is equally critical for lenders, servicers, investors and borrowers.Mike Wileman, president and CEO of Orion Financial Group Inc., Southlake, Texas, is one of many industry veterans who see paperwork accuracy and transparency as a powerful factor that is affecting how the industry is and ultimately will conduct business in the future.

Fourth-quarter delinquency rate data show slight overall improvements and reiterate the drivers of change are staunchly local and not that promising for the near future.

The White House may want to pull the plug on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but it plans on keeping the Federal Home Loan Bank System alive, albeit at reduced capacity.

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.