Fitch: U.S. RMBS Non-Bank Servicers Expanding GSE, Government Portfolios

U.S. non-bank residential mortgage-backed securities servicers are moving away from servicing delinquent borrowers and setting their sights increasingly on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae loans, said Fitch Ratings, New York.

The agency’s U.S. RMBS servicer handbook said non-bank servicers have increased their GSE and government servicing portfolios by nearly 20 percent over the past year.

“Mortgage servicers are benefiting from a positive credit environment with clean paying loans becoming the norm and seriously delinquent loans fading from view,” said Fitch Managing Director Roelof Slump. He noted 90 percent of Fitch’s rated servicers managed to decrease delinquencies in the first quarter, compared to the fourth quarter.

The report said several servicers are seeing growth in the range of 25-50 percent; however, Bayview Loan Servicing LLC’s aggregate government and agency portfolio grew by 140 percent over the year, driven mostly by a $2.2 billion increase in its servicing portfolio of Fannie Mae loans.

“Special servicers are seeking out new avenues of business as the volume of reperforming loan product available in the market continues to diminish,” Slump said.