MSR

JPMorgan Chase reported lower mortgage banking revenue in the fourth quarter as the returns from its servicing business declined from the previous year.

Situs agreed Friday to buy mortgage servicing rights valuation and brokerage firm MountainView Financial Solutions in a deal set to close this month.

MountainView is brokering a nonrecourse $3.5 billion package of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage servicing rights on behalf of an unnamed seller.

The largest residential mortgage servicers will get even larger in 2018, benefiting from consolidation and the outsourcing of servicing rights acquired by companies without their own platforms.

New Residential Investment Corp. is planning to purchase Shellpoint Partners in the first half of next year for $190 million with an additional earn-out over the next three years.

The Senate tax reform proposal could force servicers to pay tax upfront on income that is currently tax deferred, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Consumer Mortgage Coalition.

The impending bankruptcy of Walter Investment Management Corp. should not affect its subsidiary Ditech Financial's capability to service securitized mortgages, Fitch Ratings said.

Walter Investment Management Corp. is looking to file for bankruptcy protection by Nov. 30, after lining up $1.9 billion of debtor-in-possession warehouse financing.

Impac Mortgage Holdings' nonqualified mortgage origination volume increased 248% year-over-year in the third quarter as the company accumulates loans for a planned securitization next year.

PHH Corp.'s net loss grew in the third quarter as the company took a hit from the costs of its transformation to being a subservicer and portfolio retention originator.