Risk management

The Internal Revenue Service's indefinite delay of a deadline for a new authentication procedure has headed off concerns about potential interruptions in mortgage production.

Lenders and servicers haven't faced the same scrutiny over data security as their peers in retail and other financial services sectors. But mortgage companies must remain vigilant, as the extensive data they collect can expose consumers to identity theft if it got in the wrong hands.

Recently launched low-down-payment mortgage programs are presenting new opportunities for fraud. But new data and monitoring tools can help lenders mitigate those risks.

Bayview Asset Management is securitizing $159.6 million of securities that transfer the risk of credit losses on mortgages insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

As Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to experiment with up-front risk sharing deals, some small mortgage lenders are worried they will be left out of the action.

Within hours of taking the reins at Wells Fargo, new chief Tim Sloan pledged to finish the reforms begun by his predecessor, John Stumpf, who stepped aside Wednesday in an attempt to quiet the phony-accounts scandal that has rocked the company.

The Wells Fargo phony-accounts scandal is barely five weeks old, but it felt like John Stumpf had been hanging on for five years.

The No. 3 U.S. bank by assets has made a change at the top after a snowballing scandal involving the creation of fraudulent accounts.

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. Unfortunately, it's taken years of widespread regulatory upheaval for mortgage servicing to find it necessary to start thinking about technology innovation.

Servicers have long skimped on technology investment, leaving legacy systems that can't keep pace with compliance demands. But rising costs and a new round of regulations are compelling both servicers and vendors to finally address these deficiencies.