Servicing

A new $835 million Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) portfolio has hit the market, with Colorado-based MountainView Servicing Group acting as the advisor. According to an announcement from MountainView, the bulk servicing offering includes 99.7 percent fixed-rate and 100 percent first-lien product with a weighted average original FICO score of 691.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently proposed an expansion of its consumer complaint database that would include publicly publishing full narratives of consumers' complaints against financial institutions. While the bureau suggests such action supports the goal of "[improving] the functioning, transparency, and efficiency of markets," not all agree.

Assurant Specialty Property recently announced it acquired eMortgage Logic, LLC in an effort to expand its risk management offerings for the mortgage industry.

Rushmore Loan Management Services LLC, a national residential mortgage servicer, is extending its reach into Puerto Rico with the addition of a new branch in San Juan.

The 2014 Five Star Conference and Expo will feature an important industry event hosted by Brian Montgomery, former Federal Housing Administration (FHA) commissioner and current chairman of the Collingwood Group, a Washington, D.C.-based mortgage lending business advisory firm.

In a bulletin issued Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned mortgage servicers to pay close attention to the new "common-sense" mortgaging rules implemented by the bureau in January 2014, aimed at protecting consumers from being harmed during loan transfers.

Based on data collected from April through June, Mortgage Daily reported a 24 percent quarterly increase in mortgage originations to an estimated $296 billion among all lenders as of June 30. Production still fell short 51 percent on an annual basis as consumer demand for mortgages remained anemic and credit standards stayed tight.

In a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for Southern Florida, the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, a firm focused on representing investors, accused the Atlanta-based mortgage company of failing to disclose to its shareholders that its servicing practices "violated applicable regulations and laws" and that its executives were involved in funneling millions of dollars in fees through Altisource Portfolio Solutions, a related company.

Walter Investment Management announced Monday that the company experienced a net loss of $12.9 million for Q2 2014. The company's net income was $45.0 million after adjustments made for goodwill impairment charges in the reverse mortgage segment and reductions in the company's servicing rights' fair value, regarding chances in valuation inputs.

Second-quarter profits at Ocwen Financial fell short compared to last year as costs came up. The company reported net income of $67.0 million last quarter, a decline of nearly $10 million from the year ago period. While revenue was up 2 percent year-on-year to $553.1 million, normalized pretax earnings took a 7 percent hit, which Ocwen chairman Bill Erbey explained was the result of higher regulatory and compliance costs and interest expense.