Mortgages

Mortgage subservicers will need to do a lot more than subservice pretty soon, according to the head of the largest company in the field.

The shift in market composition is fueling concerns that if defaults rise, the Federal Housing Administration would have a harder time making lenders eat the losses on poorly underwritten loans.

Wells Fargo's quality-control procedures will play a key role in a closely watched mortgage-fraud case that could go to trial this summer. Federal prosecutors are using the bank's internal reports to allege its executives knew about deficient loans.

The bill would require written contract amendments, signed by the lender, for most loans. Legislators took up the issue after a judge in the state sided with a borrower's claim of having an oral agreement from Bank of America to modify a mortgage.

The technology, still in its early development stages, will analyze Home Mortgage Disclosure Act files prior to formal submission to the regulator so lenders can spot and fix errors faster.

Bank of America is asking the Justices to overturn lower-court rulings that mortgage loans with a secondary lien on a debtor's asset can be "stripped down" to zero when the collateral is completely underwater. The decision could affect an even wider range of second liens.

Mel Watt, the former North Carolina lawmaker, has earned praise for his cautious approach to guiding the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But critics say he is making it even more difficult to craft a system without them.

Large mortgage servicers continued to shed delinquencies as overall loan performance improved in the fourth quarter, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Friday.

Wells Fargo announced the closure of a mortgage servicing site and the retirement of a longtime commercial banking executive Wednesday.

The Justice Department's Clifford White is putting all mortgage servicers on notice that they too will be punished if they flout bankruptcy rules.

Subprime auto lending has become a top priority for the CFPB, said Steven Antonakes, the agency's deputy director on Wednesday. He also revealed that it was open to making changes to its complaint portal, which the agency recently said would allow consumers to post detailed narratives of their problems with financial institutions.

The leader of the Senate Banking Committee said he'd rather leave Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in U.S. conservatorship than pass a bill that includes explicit government support for the housing market.

There are a lot of consumer, investor and regulatory complaints about how the nonbank servicing firm does business, but Morgan Stanley researchers offer reasons why certain investors and borrowers could benefit from sticking with Ocwen.

If you thought the subprime mortgage-backed security was an artifact of the past, think again. Nomura Holdings and Angel Oak Capital have a deal that may help revive the part of the market that went bust during the crisis. Their success could encourage more banks to dip their toes back into riskier mortgages.

Ocwen Financial is fighting back against a group of large bondholders that have accused the Atlanta mortgage servicer of improper servicing practices and an alleged breach of trust.

Ocwen Financial Corp. said investors in mortgage-backed securities who criticized its servicing policies are trying to force more foreclosures.

Freddie Mac is selling more than $1 billion of soured U.S. home loans in its largest sale of the debt. Potential buyers are bidding on three pools of nonperforming loans, with unpaid principal balances of about $660 million, $249 million and $125 million.

Bank of New York Mellon is building out a new investment firm with the mortgage specialist Amherst Holdings. The move is its second major commitment to a fixed income-related fund this year.