Servicing

Data on the loans municipalities are being advised to target show fewer underwater mortgages are defaulting and when borrowers stop paying, modifications increasingly include balance cuts.

Sylvan Road Capital will buy and renovate single-family housing units and convert them to rental properties in order to help stabilize communities and provide employment opportunities.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposed new rules for mortgage servicing were written primarily for the largest players, but it is the small servicers that will have the hardest time absorbing the costs.

The average Freddie Mac rate for a 30-year mortgage climbed three basis points during the week ending Aug. 16 as the 10-year Treasury bond yield hit a high not seen since May.

Ocwen Financial hired industry veteran Jill Showell as its senior vice president for government and community relations.

The first baseline report detailing progress under the $25 billion servicing settlement will be issued by the end of the month, according to the independent monitor appointed to oversee the agreement between five major servicers and 49 states.

Impac Mortgage Holdings originated $532 million of residential loans in the second quarter, a 135% gain from the same period a year ago as its business continued to grow at an impressive clip.

A Home Affordable Modification Program report shows that 75% of non-government-sponsored enterprise borrowers entering the program in June received some form of a principal reduction.

Small servicers that already operate on razor-thin margins would essentially be subject to many of the same requirements that came out of the $25 billion mortgage settlement struck early this year between regulators and the five largest bank servicers.

Stabilizing fundamentals and favorable performance so far this year has reduced Fitch’s concerns over potential losses for life company mortgage investments.