Servicing

Mortgage servicers that provide troubled borrowers with a 'single point of contact' to help them through loan modifications and workouts avoid costly delays and customer confusion, according to a Fannie Mae executive.

Roughly $22.5 billion worth of commercial mortgages are set to mature over the next 12 months and will need to be rolled over, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings. In total, 22,000 loans will be affected.

Mortgage banking income at BB&T Corp., was down by $46 million between the third and fourth quarters for reasons related to the residential mortgage business. When the fourth quarters of 2009 and 2010 are compared, mortgage banking income was down $4 million due to servicing-related issues.

A decline in mortgage-related income caused noninterest income at SunTrust Banks Inc., Atlanta to decline by $15 million between the third and fourth quarters.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is in the process of approving another one-year suspension of its anti-flipping rule on foreclosed properties bought with FHA loans.

Bank of America Corp., during an earnings conference call with analysts, pinned an upper bound to its risk of loss from litigation over private-label, mortgage-backed securities: $7 billion to $10 billion.

Kondaur Capital, a player in the distressed mortgage space, purchased roughly 1,500 loans in December, according to company CEO Jon Daurio.

Last year's robo-signing scandals delayed tens of thousands of foreclosures in the 23 states where the process is handled in court. A new controversy could complicate foreclosures in the other 27 states.

The National Credit Union Administration late this week sold another $1.5 billion of its NCUA Guaranteed Notes, bonds whose cash flows ultimately come from toxic MBS owned by now defunct corporate credit unions.

Most Americans are likely to cringe at the thought of accelerating the pace of foreclosures. Steep drops in home prices and property values, along with uncertainty about the exact number of homes in foreclosure, continue to stifle consumer confidence.