Servicing

Suddenly, it appears that mortgage banking is hot. Okay, maybe hot is not the best word, but in the past few weeks two residential-related IPOs have hit the market: Nationstar Mortgage, and Home Loan Servicing Solutions. Both are specialty servicers (of sorts), though the latter is really just a shell corporation created to unlock MSR value for Ocwen Financial Corp. (Or maybe I'm being too critical?)

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc.'s initial public offering opened this morning on the New York Stock Exchange at $13.58 per share, which is below its pricing late yesterday at $14 per share. At 11:20 am the stock was trading at $13.89 per share.

It may be the best of times to be a commercial, multifamily banker and the worst of times to be a servicer of securitized multifamily loans.

Moody's Investor Service this week went "negative" on the mortgage insurance industry, citing the sector's weak financials and calling its future "unclear."

The average rate for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage set a new record low and the average 30-year FRM rate slid a bit to a point not far from its bottom in Freddie Mac's closely watched primary market survey.

Safeguard Properties has launched an online series of free, educational videos that describe the role field service businesses play while working with mortgage servicers and investor clients.

As servicing fraud schemes rise in which scammers are taking advantage of distressed borrowers, it is important for lenders to step up their efforts in detecting and preventing these false scams from taking place.

The Prestwick Mortgage Group will auction off a $13 million portfolio of bulk Freddie Mac residential servicing rights owned by a national bank.

In a recent ruling, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that mortgage servicers have the right to protect and maintain their collateral interest in defaulted and foreclosed properties prior to the property going to sale—validating the work field service companies perform.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is expanding its on-site examination teams at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to monitor their servicing activities while taking a closer look at risks posed by counterparties.