Servicing

The nation’s megabanks are continuing to sit on their nonperforming residential loans, although some are currently out in the market with mid-sized packages.

Over the past 18 months REITs have raised $26 billion in new equity. Almost all of it has been targeted toward MBS investments. Very little has been plowed into mortgage servicing rights.

The Federal Reserve Board this week released the last details of how two mortgage servicers—Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Finance Corp.—plan to fix problems in their home loan servicing and foreclosure processes.

Credit unions continue their bid to become a real player in the mortgage industry.

Madison Realty Capital, a commercial real estate fund specializing in flexible debt and equity financing, has completed five separate financing and note purchase transactions that totaled $25.6 million.

Lenders are writing off fewer loans because consumers have improved in repaying their debt and there are fewer bankruptcies, Equifax said.

Fannie Mae hopes to banish banks from any involvement in the purchase of force-placed insurance under a plan to lower the cost of the product.

With more effective outreach to municipalities and better internal processes, servicers can minimize their risks of code violations and stiff penalties, and build stronger relationships with code enforcement departments to protect the condition and value of properties in their portfolios.

In a recent presentation to investors Fortress Investment Group estimated that $4 trillion in mortgage servicing rights may change hands over the next few years, but MSR investors and others say that estimate is much too high.

As the Litigation Compliance Law Center explained during a May 10 webinar, it was offering to pay finders' fees to mortgage brokers for recruiting homeowners who themselves paid a $5,000 up-front "retainer" to affiliated attorneys.