Servicing

Weeks after state and federal officials said they would ensure borrowers still had the right to sue servicers even under the $25 billion mortgage settlement, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency appears ready to follow suit.

First off, I'd like to thank the crew at Bank of America for continually giving mortgage reporters and editors something to write about. Don't get me wrong--there's plenty of good stories out there. And let's face it--and you read it here first: What happens regulatory and legislatively over the next three to four years should shape the future of this industry for the next 50 years.

The National Association of Home Builders is forecasting a modest but measured improvement in the remodeling and renovation sector, which has been troubled by the same conditions that have inhibited the new home sector.

Builders put up the fewest houses last year since World War II, but they were the largest houses ever.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received about 2,300 complaints about mortgage servicers in December, when it began accepting complaints online, and the pace of borrower complaints has been steady ever since, according to a senior agency official.

While United Guaranty Corp. posted an operating loss of $23 million in the fourth quarter, it was the private mortgage insurance industry's most prolific underwriter for the second quarter in a row, with new insurance written of $7.1 billion.

Bank of America Corp. is switching its U.S. employees -- according to its mortgage workers -- to a single defined contribution retirement plan at the end of the second quarter.

Ah, the morning after a bitter split. Late yesterday Brian Moynihan of Bank of America walked into Fannie Mae's bedroom and told that secondary market hussy that the marriage was over. "No more loans for you," Moynihan shouted as he left the boudoir, suitcase in hand and a one-way ticket to Virginia where his new best friend, Freddie, awaited. (Okay, I made that part up but you get the drift.)

Depositories unloading real-estate-owned properties face some tough choices, such as whether to auction off homes or sell them to investors, and whether to fix them up first. But whatever they decide, the real challenge is to avoid dragging down property values from their already-depressed 25% to 30% discounts.

Launched a few months back, the correspondent lending division of American Home Mortgage Servicing is approaching a monthly run-rate of $500 million and could wind up buying upwards of $6 billion in product by the time its fiscal year ends in September.