Financial institutions

RMBS 3.0 investors are turning their attention to service performance in new transactions, following years of difficulties in the mortgage servicing sector, according to Fitch Ratings.

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings president and chief operating officer Harold Lewis has announced his plans to retire and resign his posts with the company, effective May 31.

Long before regulators put the spotlight on servicing-rights transfers, there were signs that many deals weren't going smoothly, leaving both borrowers and investors at risk.

JPMorgan Chase has purchased $45 billion in servicing rights from embattled mortgage firm Ocwen Financial.

WashingtonFirst Bankshares in Reston, Va., has agreed to buy direct mortgage lender 1st Portfolio Holding Corp. in Fairfax, Va.

With support from Bank of America, a nonprofit lender is trying to revitalize Detroit by offering no-down-payment mortgages at up to 150% of a home's assessed value. The idea is to provide borrowers with enough cash to buy run-down homes and fix them up, and if the program works as promised it could prove to be a template for lending in other cities — like Baltimore — that have large swaths of boarded-up homes.

Sutherland Asset Management has launched a bridge lending division called Ready Capital Structured Finance to strengthen its existing direct commercial lending platform.

This year's unexpected pickup in both refinance and purchase lending is keeping hiring at nonbank mortgage firms moving at a upbeat clip.

PHH Corp. reported a strong jump in income due to favorable adjustments to mortgage servicing rights and increased mortgage application volume.

Walter Investment Management Corp. dropped to a $31 million net loss on decreasing net servicing fees and a significant fair value charge to mortgage servicing rights.

To survive and thrive, community banks must follow the lead of nonbank mortgage lenders by embracing digital technology and customer convenience.

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings swung to a significant loss as the servicing segment's income fell due to higher prepayments amidst the decline in interest rates and lower benefits.

Although mortgage servicers technically work for the investors that pay them, the state of the business today requires that they make consumers front-and-center in their operations.

Two House Financial Services Committee members introduced a bipartisan bill late last week that is designed to give lenders breathing room when new disclosure rules go into effect on Aug. 1.

Wes Edens, a co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, has shot his share of air balls at his private-equity firm Fortress Investment Group. With mortgage assets, Edens has found his mark.

The SAFE Transitional License Act would allow registered lending officers to work at independent mortgage banks for 120 days while they complete state testing and licensing requirements.

Ocwen Financial and Assurant have reached an agreement to settle charges that the embattled mortgage servicer profited from kickbacks on force-placed insurance policies with struggling homeowners.

As more millennials enter the housing market, mortgage bankers continue to stress improved technology as a needed element in efforts to win these consumers, according to a member survey by Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative.

Mortgage application activity fell once again as refinance volume dropped to its lowest level since September 2014, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

With the housing market and fundamentals showing signs of health, investors may want to begin turning their focus from commercial to residential real estate, according to analysts at William Blair.