Servicing

New research from the New York Fed confirms a lingering worry for the banking industry: More prime-age, college-educated borrowers are delaying the decision to take out their first mortgage as they focus instead on paying off their student loans.

Ocwen Financial is a step closer to the day when it can resume purchases of mortgage servicing rights.

While there are inherent differences between student loan and mortgage servicing, recent claims against the largest student loan servicer echo the mortgage debacle.

Industry critics argue the Invitation Homes deal will create new risks for Fannie Mae and remove affordable inventory from homebuyers.

A Long Island, N.Y., man was sentenced to prison time and ordered to pay $2.5 million after pleading guilty in June to ripping off distressed homeowners, said Christy Romero, the Tarp special inspector general.

Rising interest rates have slowed a recent run of unexpectedly high prepayments of government-insured mortgages, making servicing rights for loans held in Ginnie Mae securities more attractive to investors.

Caliber will also buy about $36 million of mortgage servicing rights in a deal that is expected to close at the end of March.

The mortgage servicer will pay at least $25 million in cash and provide some $200 million in debt relief to borrowers to resolve a range of alleged violations. But Ocwen will also be allowed to resume acquiring servicing rights in the nation's largest state.

Citigroup's plan to sell a $97 billion mortgage servicing portfolio and subservice its remaining accounts highlights the growing prevalence of nondepository servicers and raises questions about how much capacity exists for these institutions to absorb more large deals.

Citigroup's decision to exit mortgage servicing by the end of 2018 is part of a long-term strategy to increase returns and sharpen the bank's focus on its core retail customers.