Servicing

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is focusing strong attention on large bank and nonbank residential servicers.

Senate Democrats are trying to revive a mortgage refinancing bill—for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers—by reintroducing a slimmed-down version of the measure.

Pacifica Companies, LLC, San Diego, was declared the winning bidder on a Fannie Mae bulk REO portfolio, paying just $12.3 million for a package of 699 Florida properties valued at $81.5 million.

Cashmere Valley is turning to outsourcing to help make sense of the complicated legislation that after two years is still developing as provisions get delayed, clarified or rewritten. For banks with assets of less than $10 billion, it's not even clear which parts of the law apply.

The Federal Housing Administration appears to be in process of a changing a March directive that made it more difficult to process refinancings.

Title insurance underwriters saw the volume of premiums written during the second quarter increase by $456 million over the same period last year, according to the American Land Title Association.

If the government is bent on winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sooner rather than later, then it helps that some major lenders are committing to buy back soured loans from the government-sponsored enterprises all at once, rather than quarter by quarter.

Plenty of mortgage banking firms are lining up to get their Ginnie Mae approvals so they can issue government-backed mortgage bonds and service the underlying loans.

One factor that could affect prepayments going forward is whether the federal officials decide to embark on another round of easing involving mortgage-backed securities purchases.

Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan explains the correlation between rising student loan debt and its impact on household formation and mortgage originations.