Servicing

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have hiked the standard modification benchmark interest rate.

Black Knight Financial Services has integrated its Lien Alert portfolio monitoring tool with its LoanSphere MSP servicing system.

Homeowners in predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoods are more likely than their counterparts in predominantly white neighborhoods to be underwater on their mortgages, according to a report from Zillow.

Nonbank servicers should proactively ask for guidance on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's muddled private-label servicing policies, as they are likely to soon be under scrutiny.

A unit of M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., has bought certain operations of Philadelphia mortgage firm Carey, Kramer, Pettit, Panichelli & Associates.

The national foreclosure inventory fell by 30% year over year in November, according to CoreLogic.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to give the state's banking regulator — one of the country's most aggressive — the power to ban "bad actors" from working in financial services, allowing it to step in when federal agencies refuse to act.

The Federal Housing Administration said it would cut the annual premium by 25 basis points starting on Jan. 27, giving President-elect Donald Trump a limited window to delay or scrap the cut.

HSBC was fined $32.5 million for failing to comply with a 2011 consent order that directed the bank to revamp its mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices.

The number of homeowners underwater on their mortgage continues to shrink as the amount of tappable home equity grows, according to Black Knight Financial Services.