Servicing

Assurant Group defended its force-placed insurance business practices and relationships with mortgage servicers Wednesday, as its stock fell 11% following publication of an American Banker story examining the company's niche.

Foreclosure activity topped 330,000 units in October, a 4% decline from September — but only because of the national robo-gate scandal, according to new figures compiled by RealtyTrac, Irvine, Calif.

A number of new trends in the U.S. home mortgage industry are impacting servicers' ability to move problem loans efficiently through the default resolution process.

BlackRock Inc. hopes to invest upwards of $1 billion in jumbo mortgages with the hope of eventually issuing securities backed by the loans, according to secondary market officials familiar with the plan.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp., reported core earnings of $7.9 million in the third quarter, a five-fold increase compared to the same period last year.

Mortgage applications rose 5.8% last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, with similar increases for both refinancings and purchase loans, according to new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury jumped above 2.7% on Wednesday, compared to a reading of 2.5% earlier in the week, a sign that mortgage rates may be headed upward.

Federal regulators should allow three-year ARMs and certain interest-only loans to be classified as "qualified mortgages" that will be exempt from risk retention rules, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

With prices trending down in the third quarter of 2010, lenders and servicers are looking for innovative tools to improve the marketing and liquidation of REO homes.

The nation's foreclosure scandal may soon have a profound effect on residential servicers passing on principal and interest payments to end MBS bond holders, affecting the value of certain tranches.