Employees Await Fate as Subprime Servicer Acquired
The acquisition of a servicer in California has hundreds of employees wondering whether they will be laid off. The deal involves servicing rights on more than 100,000 mortgages.
The future of North Highlands, Calif., subprime loan servicing center HomEq -- and of its 1,000 employees -- remains uncertain as of its Wednesday takeover by Florida-based Ocwen Loan Servicing.
Inside accounts from employees at the massive Watt Avenue facility raised the possibility of several hundred layoffs in coming days and weeks.
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Improvement in Delinquency Driven by Mods
A just-released ratings agency report indicates that loan modifications are having a positive impact on residential delinquency.
Merger Creates Top-10 Subprime Servicer
An upcoming acquisition of a default servicer is expected to create a new top-10 servicer of subprime mortgages and boost demand for servicing portfolios.
Wholesale Conditions Better, But U/W Still Tough
A wholesale lending "renaissance" is on, according to one executive. And improving rates have forced at least one wholesale lender to increase minimum lock periods to 45 days. One wholesaler is marketing manufactured housing financing. Meanwhile, wholesale lender underwriting overlays are a troubling trend for third-party originators.
Servicer Rating Lowered at Goldman Unit
The subprime mortgage servicing subsidiary of Goldman Sachs was hit with a servicer rating downgrade.
Subprime & FHA Foreclosures Fall, Prime Inventory Rises
Residential loan delinquency improved, as did the overall foreclosure rate. But even as subprime foreclosures tumbled more than a hundred basis points, prime foreclosures increased. An increase in late payments on loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration was more than offset by a decline in the FHA foreclosure inventory. More than one-in-four Florida mortgages is delinquent or in foreclosure.
Over $20 Billion in Subprime RMBS Downgraded
Three vintages of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities have continued to see deterioration in loan performance. Based on the worsening performance as well as economic conditions, one ratings agency downgraded more than $20 billion in securities.
Banks Report Stronger Home-Loan Demand
An increase in demand at banks for home loans was led by small and mid-sized banks. Big banks, meanwhile, were the only ones to ease lending guidelines. Nonprime and commercial mortgage lending has been mostly unchanged.
Anatomy of a Subprime RMBS
A closer look at some of the subprime loans packaged into residential mortgage-backed securities reveals loans with poor credit scores, silent second mortgages and unverified income that were already delinquent before issuance and garnered triple-A ratings. Many involved mortgage fraud. But investors who are looking to litigation have little hope of recovering their losses -- though secondary lenders are pushing losses back to the originator.
Upgrade to Select's Servicer Ratings
A host of factors contributed to an improvement in Select Portfolio Servicing Inc.'s servicer ratings for subprime mortgages and second liens. The company saw its average loan size jump by more than a quarter over the past year.
