Servicing

Walter Investment Management Corp. lost $4 million in the fourth quarter and $69 million for the year because of costs tied to its purchase of Green Tree Servicing, St. Paul, Minn.

Home prices fell 1.2% in January, following a 1% decline in December, according to preliminary figures compiled by Lender Processing Services.

The 9.37% CMBS delinquency rate in February was lower both sequentially and compared to year-ago monthly figures by Trepp LLC's measure, but the company notes that whether this is a true sign of improvement depends in part on the fate of paying loans that are past their maturity date but have not yet been modified, refinanced or foreclosed upon.

Some prepayment reports are showing certain agency MBS speeds are picking up a bit, and at least one suggests that new FHA mortgage insurance premium changes could have a slight, mixed effect on Ginnie Mae bonds going forward.

So, which presidential candidate knows the most about mortgage banking? Newt Gingrich who gave invaluable advice to Freddie Mac, telling that GSE to avoid subprime acquisitions? (If only, Freddy had listened!)

Radian Guaranty Inc. did $2 billion in primary new insurance written in February, which is the fifth consecutive month the company has written at least that much volume.

LenderLive Settlement Services, Denver, is moving into the foreclosure/real estate owned title space through its acquisition of MoKan Title Services LLC, Kansas City, Mo.

Fannie Mae intends to replace traditional force-placed insurance on its loans with policies from a provider of its choosing, a move that could upend big banks' controversial force-placed insurance practices.

Whether the servicing operation is owned by a bank with an origination arm or not, HARP 2.0 represents both a great opportunity and a real risk for mortgage servicers.

Outstanding residential debt serviced by mortgage banking firms fell to $9.1 trillion at yearend, the lowest reading since the third quarter of 2007, according to new figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.