Servicing

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have agreed to honor New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s request for new rules to accelerate the release of insurance proceeds to homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Discontinued operations lead to Impac having a net loss of $3.4 million for 2012, compared with net earnings of $3.2 million in 2011.

Regulators reached the settlement last month for foreclosure faults after a U.S. housing-market collapse contributed to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Radian Group’s equity and debt offerings this week raised nearly $690 million in net proceeds, a good sign for the industry.

The combined effect of lower volumes of underperforming loans and improved workout practices helped improve the traffic of delinquent, securitized commercial mortgage loans that go in and out of special servicing.

Ocwen recorded earnings gains and record revenue in the fourth quarter fueled in part by merger, acquisition and sales activity.

Despite regional issues, year-over-year the nation's foreclosure inventory has fallen for 15 consecutive months to less than 3% of all mortgages.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped five basis points from the previous week to 3.51%.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke accepted responsibility on behalf of regulators for a troubled independent foreclosure review process.

The national loan delinquency rate fell on a monthly and annual basis through January, Lender Processing Services said.