Loss mitigation

Auditors performing a review of Ocwen Financial padded time sheets and claimed excessive and improper expenses, including lengthy travel and meals at strip clubs and casinos, according to a lawsuit filed against Fidelity Information Services.

State regulators felt they were strung along by the mortgage servicing giant Ocwen Financial after years of promises that were never fulfilled, resulting in successive enforcement actions against the company.

The days of vacant, distressed homes covered in sheets of plywood appear numbered, as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac move toward greater adoption of polycarbonate "clear boarding" to secure foreclosure properties.

Foreclosure activity continues to subside and most of the regulatory reforms created to protect distressed borrowers have been implemented. Yet mortgage servicers still haven't fully resolved the operational challenges facing their business.

DLJ Mortgage Capital Inc. was the winning bidder on all four pools in Fannie Mae's second reperforming loan sale.

Freddie Mac has obtained two new insurance policies under its Agency Credit Insurance Structure program.

New Jersey Community Capital was the winning bidder of Fannie Mae's sixth Community Impact Pool auction of nonperforming loans.

Fannie Mae has obtained reinsurance for $510 million of credit losses on $20.4 billion of single-family residential mortgages through a pair of credit insurance risk transfer transactions.

First- and second-lien mortgage default rates increased slightly in February, according to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.

Modification activity increased slightly in January over December as servicers worked their way through the remaining Home Affordable Mortgage Program applications.