News

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 15, 2008 today. The new stats show mortgage applications declined only slightly from last week, but have now hit their lowest level since December 2000.

First American Default Technologies, a member of The First American Corporation family of companies and a provider of host-system integration technology to the mortgage default servicing industry, launched a new loss mitigation module as part of its VendorScape suite of solutions today.

Michigan Paves the Way with Creative Techniques to Legally Avoid Costly Delays, Hasten Foreclosure and REO Sales When it comes to loss mitigation, quicker is almost always better. If the ultimate goal of every foreclosure is a clean, quick REO sale, avoiding delay by using creative methods can substantially improve results.

All the turmoil in today’s mortgage banking sector has made the need for qualified loss mitigation professionals much more poignant. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says its education platform, CampusMBA, is prepared to meet this need through the launch of a new instructor-led workshop focusing on the practice of loss mitigation.

With home prices dropping in key market areas like California and Florida, eight banks are facing additional stresses within their loan portfolios due to the eruption of home equity delinquency rates, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings.

The HOPE NOW Alliance—a national network of mortgage servicers, nonprofits and housing counseling agencies—received praise from U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Jr., today for their quick implementation of Project Lifeline.

GMAC Financial Services, a financial services company, said it experienced a net loss of $724 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 and an annual net loss of $2.3 billion for the entire year. The financial services giant blames troubles experienced at its lending subsidiary Residential Capital, LLC, (or ResCap) for the company’s many losses last year.

Shelton, Connecticut-based Clayton Holdings Inc., a platform dedicated to providing advanced analytics for lending firms, capital market institutions and investors, confirmed with DSNews.com on Monday that it will be assisting the New York Attorney General’s Office in its case against major Wall Street firms, who are accused of not properly disclosing risky subprime loans to investors.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp.) announced this week that its net income declined 29-percent between 2006 and 2007, and its diluted earnings per share dropped 28-percent. According to the lender’s 2007 earnings report, BofA’s net income hit $14.

In light of the recent wildfires that swept through Southern California, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a 90-day foreclosure moratorium on all Southern California homes that are based on FHA-insured mortgages.