Mortgage defaults

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will again halt evictions nationwide for foreclosed properties during the holiday season.

Renasant in Tupelo, Miss., is the latest banking company to get out of loss-share agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The amount of equity homeowners hold grew by $726 billion, or 10.8%, in the third quarter of 2016 versus the year before, according to CoreLogic.

As favorable credit conditions, including low interest rates, begin to dissipate, banks could begin to experience more stress from their loan portfolios, including their real estate holdings, according to Kroll Bond Rating Agency.

Steven Mnuchin's confirmation hearing is likely to be dogged by stories of homeowners who claim his bank, OneWest, illegally foreclosed on them. While the stories are unlikely to prevent President-elect Donald Trump's pick from being confirmed, it could weaken Mnuchin politically and rehash grievances from the financial crisis.

Foreclosure starts dropped to the lowest level recorded since January 2005, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

FirstKey Mortgage is marketing its fifth portfolio consisting primarily of formerly troubled first-lien residential mortgages that have rebounded to reperforming status.

Soaring Pine Capital has provided a senior secured credit facility to Park Street Group Realty Services to fund the company's acquisition of residential properties in the Detroit area.

While nonbank servicers are expected to continue to gain greater market share in 2017, much of that growth will come from their own loan origination activity rather than mortgage servicing rights purchases and subservicing, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

The Federal Communications Commission has denied a request to exempt servicers from getting consent before robo-calling borrowers' mobile phones, rejecting arguments that the waiver would enable the mortgage industry to better help delinquent borrowers.