Servicing

Bank of America Home Loans has opened a new outreach center to assist financially troubled borrowers in the Boston and surrounding regions.

The National Association of Home Builders seems confident that home buying will pick up in the second half of the year, but in the wake of federal tax credits expiring, consumers are staying out of the market longer than expected.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers has formed a new subsidiary to invest in mortgages and property portfolios.

Loan officers, loan data and underwriting are all going to continue to face mounting scrutiny from investors and regulators as the market strives to reach a point where investors become comfortable enough with private-label risk to rebuild that market again, a move that could pave the way for reform of the government-sponsored enterprises.

Now that congress has passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill, attention has quickly turned to the implementation date of the regulatory provisions, which impact every mortgage securitizer, lender, servicer and loan broker.Not only are questions popping up about effective dates, but how long it will take to get the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau up and running. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., told reporters that Congress needs to focus "relentlessly" on the regulatory process. "I would urge my colleagues beginning probably no later than September to hold hearings on the status of the regulations."

An explicit government guarantee and insurance wrap on mortgage-backed securities are among a gathering consensus about Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac reform that is emerging in one of the two main political camps debating the issue.

National banks and federally chartered thrifts conducting their mortgage lending operations through subsidiaries may have to restructure their operations due to the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill.

Citigroup paid out $210 million for loan buybacks in both the first and second quarters, according to company executives.

The Federal Housing Administration is seeking public comment on mortgage underwriting changes it plans to implement soon to reduce defaults and losses to the federal mortgage insurance fund.

Credit shortages in parts of the market such as the jumbo sector are a strong argument for finding a way to make private-label securitizationeconomically viable again, a panelist told attendees at a securities conference in New York.