Servicing

Cole Taylor Mortgage saw its revenues increase by 94% on a sequential basis in the first quarter while its mortgage servicing portfolio more than doubled in size, according to new figures released by the company.

Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry this week urged eligible borrowers to sign up for the OCC's foreclosure-review process, and suggested that homeowners who didn't like the results would still be able to sue their mortgage servicers later.

Ally Financial is continuing talks with Nationstar about the REIT buying Residential Capital Corp./GMAC through a 'prepackaged' bankruptcy transaction, according to investment bankers familiar with the companies.

Freddie Mac's weekly average for the 30-year rate came in two basis points higher at 3.9%, while the average for the five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARM dropped seven basis points to a new low at 2.78%.

While Astoria Financial's first quarter net income fell by $17 million on a year-over-year basis, its reemergence in the multifamily/commercial real estate lending space is skyrocketing.

The White House budget office estimates that losses caused by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's reckless management and lending policies will shrink over the next 10 years and cost the U.S. Treasury just $28 billion.

New York Community Bancorp on Wednesday posted a 76% first-quarter jump in mortgage banking revenue from a year earlier, as the Westbury, N.Y., bank saw robust growth in multi-family and commercial real estate loans.

The 2.0 version of the HARP program is off to a strong start with the nation's five largest servicers gobbling up applications, HUD secretary Shaun Donovan told a Mortgage Bankers Association gathering Thursday morning.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reiterated support Wednesday for mortgage principal reductions at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The changing origination landscape is making it more advantageous for midsize lenders to retain servicing rights, according to a panel at this week's SourceMedia Mortgage Servicing Conference in Dallas.