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.

The number of Colorado Springs-area residential and commercial properties that fell into foreclosure in February rose to its highest level since last summer.

CoreLogic has released a new platform that provides information on lien and equity positions for whole loan traders and servicers.

The developers of new loan-modification programs need to streamline application processes and stop making borrowers chase down useless documents.

Phyllis Caldwell has put a priority on ensuring the company's board and workforce look more like the borrowers whose mortgages it services.

Fannie Mae is making technological updates and implementing policy and operational changes as part of an effort to improve servicing.

In the aftermath of enforcement actions, non-executive chair Phyllis Caldwell is directing the special servicer's efforts to diversify its leadership and business model.

Loans that had modifications completed since 2014 are redefaulting faster than those modified in previous years, according to Fitch Ratings.

Bank of America Corp.'s fourth-quarter mortgage revenue almost doubled to $519 million from a year earlier.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have hiked the standard modification benchmark interest rate.

National banks have experienced a dramatic drop in loan modification activity over the past year, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.