SEC Charges Home Loan Servicing Solutions Over Relationship with Ocwen

HousingWire, Oct. 5, 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday that it charged Home Loan Servicing Solutions for making “material misstatements” about its relationship with Ocwen Financial as well as misstating its net income on several occasions.

Discounts in U.S. Real Estate Stocks Set Stage for Buyout Spree

Bloomberg, Sept. 25, 2015–Mulholland, Sarah
Real estate investment trusts–companies that own properties such as luxury hotels, office towers and shopping malls — are trading at an almost 15 percent discount to what investors would pay for buildings individually, according to Green Street Advisors LLC. The gap, the biggest in five years, has been growing since May, pushing the odds of REIT buyouts to the highest since 2006.

No Procrastinating Under New Mortgage Rules

OC Register (Calif.), Sept. 25, 2015–Lazerson, Jeff
If you are buying or refinancing, you need to know how to get it right when it comes to the mortgage settlement process overhaul that starts Oct. 3.

TRID Lets Borrowers Sue over Third-Party Vendor Lists

National Mortgage News, Sept. 25, 2015–Finkelstein, Brad
Lenders that allow borrowers to shop for third-party settlement services face new liability, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s integrated mortgage disclosure rules will let borrowers sue over problems with vendor lists.

Global Watchdog Seeks Deal on Ending ‘Too Big to Fail’ Banks

Reuters, Sept. 24, 2015–Jones, Huw Global regulators meet in London on Friday to agree a rule on stopping banks being “too big to fail” by requiring them to hold enough equity capital and bonds to avoid taxpayers being called on in a crisis.

Q2 2015 U.S. Banking Review: Third-Party Mortgage Servicing Portfolios

Forbes, Sept. 24, 2015–Team, Trefis
The country’s largest banks have been wary of adding mortgages not originated by them to their balance sheets, with the banks reporting another sequential reduction in their third-party mortgage servicing portfolios in Q2 2015.

Mortgage Servicer Ocwen to Cut U.S. Workforce by 10 Pct

Reuters, Sept. 24, 2015–Varadhan, Sudarshan
Mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial Corp said it would cut 300 jobs, about 10 percent of its U.S. workforce, in Waterloo, Iowa to save costs.

Q2 2015 U.S. Banking Review: Mortgage Portfolios

Sept. 23, 2015–Team, Trefis
The mortgage industry witnessed a sizable uptick in activity over the second quarter of the year, with total origination volumes reaching the highest level in the last two years. In fact, $225 billion in fresh mortgages were originated over the period – making it the best quarter in this regard since Q4 2007.

7 Challenges Confronting the Distressed Mortgage Market

National Mortgage News, Sept. 23, 2015
The rapidly evolving market for buying and selling distressed mortgage assets has created myriad challenges and opportunities for investors, servicers and portfolio managers.

HARP Helped More than 3 Million Borrowers Save $3,500 Annually

HousingWire, Sept. 23, 2015–Garrison, Trey
A new white paper by Amit Seru from the University of Chicago, along with other economists at federal regulatory agencies, provides the first comprehensive analysis of the effects of the Home Affordable Refinancing Program.