By Carrie Bay | 01/27/2012
The default servicing industry is in a state of transition, according to Larry B. Litton Jr., CEO of Selene Finance, and it's the smaller, more nimble servicing operations that will have the advantage in reacting quickly to the new rules and the changes that are in store. Litton says many of the bigger servicing shops are still set up to do what he considers commoditized types of processes and aren't able to adapt quickly to the regulatory changes coming down the line, while smaller special servicers are already built for single point of contact and to be highly responsive to consumers.
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By Carrie Bay | 11/22/2011
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a report Tuesday on actions taken to correct deficiencies in mortgage servicing and foreclosure processing by the 12 institutions it oversees. The OCC has made public the names of the independent consultants retained for foreclosure reviews, and notes that evaluations of certain cases and mailings to more than 4 million borrowers are underway. The agency says all servicers have instituted policies to end dual-tracking and provide borrowers with a single point of contact.
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By Krista Franks | 11/11/2011
Three mortgage servicers have voluntarily entered into an agreement with the New York State Department of Financial Services in which they pledge to abide by upgraded mortgage servicing standards that ensure fairness for all borrowers. The agreement was forged between Benjamin M. Lawsky, superintendent of the state regulatory agency, and Morgan Stanley and its Texas-based servicer Saxon; American Home Mortgage Servicing, also based in Texas; and Vericrest Financial, based in Oklahoma.
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By Krista Franks Brock | 11/01/2011
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Board both announced Tuesday that the independent foreclosure reviews of 14 large servicers issued in April are now under way. About 4.5 million borrowers could have their loans reviewed and potentially be compensated for imposed financial hardship, according to a previous statement by the OCC. The federal regulator says the review will take several months due to the sheer volume of cases to evaluate.
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By Carrie Bay | 10/12/2011
Florida-based eMASON, Inc., developer of the Clarifire business process automation software for the financial services industry, has unveiled the Clarifire Community. The Clarifire Community portal allows borrowers, servicers, investors, title agents, real estate agents, regulators, and other mortgage industry players to come together via a single platform to synchronize activities relating to mortgage loans, while ensuring compliance with federal regulations such as single point of contact and borrower communications.
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By Krista Franks | 10/11/2011
Wingspan Portfolio Advisors LLC, a special servicer based in Dallas, Texas, is launching an affiliate technology company to help servicers implement the single-point-of-contact requirement that is part of the GSEs' Servicing Alignment Initiative. The innovative technology that earned Wingspan a "Servicer of the Year" award will soon be available across the industry.
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By Krista Franks | 09/14/2011
While servicers attempt to develop processes to implement the single point of contact (SPOC) requirement that is part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Servicing Alignment Initiative, technology companies have developed solutions to address the new regulation. Representatives from several of these companies spoke about the issue during a panel discussion at the Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo. They say collaboration between industry partners is key to overcoming logistical challenges.
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By Krista Franks | 09/01/2011
The New York Department of Financial Services is including several stipulations with its approval of Goldman Sachs' sale of its Litton Loan Servicing unit to special servicer Ocwen Financial.
Goldman Sachs has agreed to principal reductions of $53 million on Litton mortgages. In addition, the agreement forged between Goldman and New York's banking superintendent addresses the illegal practice of robo-signing and includes rules to ensure only the note-holder pursues foreclosure actions.
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By Carrie Bay | 08/31/2011
Celink, a reverse mortgage subservicer, has implemented a single point of contact (SPOC) module for its clients' borrowers who are in default status. The company's servicing platform auto-assigns a borrower in default to a Celink associate. This associate works exclusively with the borrower until they remedy the default. They will remain the borrower's SPOC through the remediation or foreclosure process. Celink SPOCs are only assigned to a small number of accounts so that associates can provide personalized service.
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By Krista Franks | 08/03/2011
Varolii Corporation announced a new product to alleviate costs and streamline new processes servicers will have to adopt under the Single Point of Contact regulation requirements for all HAMP modifications. Varolii estimates its product will reduce servicer staffing requirements by 15 percent, while increasing borrower contact by 17 percent. The Varolii SPOC Mortgage Servicing Solution routes calls to the appropriate agents and incorporates borrowers' communication preferences.
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