The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation is examining the servicing practices of Ocwen Loan Servicing, West Palm Beach, Fla., one of the largest subprime servicers in the United States. A spokeswoman for the agency told MortgageWire that "We don't randomly conduct exams," adding that "we saw some flags." She did not elaborate. Ocwen was singled out by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley at a news conference on Tuesday. Bill Rinehart, vice president and chief credit officer for the publicly traded Ocwen, said, "We received an examination request in the ordinary course of business. That's as much as we know. If they find something in the exam, we'll address it." Ocwen services $53.5 billion in loans. At year's end, its foreclosure rate was 6.47%, compared with 3.21% a year earlier. Mr. Rinehart noted that less than 1% of Ocwen's foreclosure cures result from "short sales" or "deeds in lieu."
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The massive mortgage business saw a first quarter profit mitigated by nearly $300 million in hedging losses.
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has seen excessive property-inspection charges, fees that loan mods should eliminate and improper line-item labels.
April 24 -
Michael Tannenbaum, whose experience in the financial services industry spans over 15 years, has a track record of helping companies scale and grow.
April 24 -
A majority of consumers earning more than $100,000 annually said they were concerned about their own ability to purchase a home, demonstrating how affordability issues are impacting those at many socioeconomic levels, the University of Michigan study found.
April 24 -
The nonbank's results add to other indications that the first quarter's "higher for longer" rate scenario had an upside for efficient servicing operations.
April 24 -
The latest rate increases contributed to a 1% drop in purchases from the previous week and 15% annually, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
April 24