Loss Mitigation

The online loan modification Web portal HOPE LoanPort announced Tuesday that it received a $100,000 grant from Chase Bank to help facilitate mortgage modifications. The Washington, D.C.-based company, developed by the HOPE NOW alliance, is a Web-based instrument that helps simplify the mortgage modification process by allowing HUD-approved housing counselors to collect and then upload modification documents directly to the mortgage servicers and track the applications.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller on Monday filed a petition asking the Indiana Supreme Court to impose new procedures for foreclosures filed in the state. Zoeller says with some mortgage lenders trying to foreclose on distressed homeowners by filing court documents that are unverified, unauthenticated, or riddled with errors, Indiana is not going to wait for the federal government to take action to ensure borrowers' rights are protected.

Fannie Mae will utilize eMASON's Web-based Clarifire application to comply with the foreclosure pre-filing mediation process mandated by the Florida Supreme Court. Issued in December 2009, the statewide mediation program aims to open up communication between lenders and distressed borrowers prior to foreclosure proceedings. eMASON says Clarifire works to improve the prospect and cycle times associated with assisting borrowers by offering mediation and related workout options early in the loan's delinquency.

New data from federal regulators show that the nation's largest banks and thrifts repossessed nearly 187,000 homes during the third quarter of 2010. The number of foreclosures completed during the three-month period is up 57.5 percent from a year earlier. The report shows that new foreclosures initiated also rose to more than 382,000. Although foreclosure activity increased during the quarter, servicers reported almost twice as many home retention actions as completed home forfeiture actions.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have reached an agreement with another lender to cover repurchase claims from alleged faulty underwriting standards in origination. Bank of America announced Monday that it paid a nearly $3 billion settlement to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on the last day of 2010 to cover repurchase claims from the two GSEs. According to BofA, the settlement resolves ""substantial legacy issues"" in the best interest of its shareholders, and the company says it is committed to putting such issues in its rearview mirror.

Default servicing software provider Equator has sold more than $100 billion in assets through its platform since 2003, according to an announcement from the company. In addition, since launching its automated short sale solution in November 2009, the company has initiated more than 500,000 short sales. The company plans to offer several new modules later this year that will interface with existing technology to assist servicers with growing inventories of distressed assets.

Ally Financial announced that its mortgage unit, Residential Capital (ResCap), and some of its subsidiaries have reached an agreement with Fannie Mae to resolve potential repurchase exposure for breaches in selling representations and warranties. The $462 million settlement releases ResCap and its subsidiaries from liability related to about $292 billion in principal unpaid balances. It covers loans serviced by GMAC Mortgage and any mortgage-backed security that Fannie Mae purchased prior to the settlement.

The annual consumer credit forecast from U.S. credit bureau TransUnion foretells a 20 percent drop in national mortgage loan delinquencies by the end of 2011. TransUnion predicts that the number of delinquent accounts -- 60 or more days past due -- will drop to 4.98 percent from an expected 6.21 percent at the conclusion of 2010. The company anticipates at least double-digit declines in mortgage delinquencies in every state and the District of Columbia through 2011.

The research firm CoreLogic has released its official assessment of the monetary toll mortgage fraud has had on the industry in 2010. According to the CoreLogic Fraud Index, fraud losses for this year are estimated to be $11 billion. That figure is actually down from $14 billion in fraud losses during the 2009 calendar year. The company says while the probable rate of fraud has increased by 20 percent since last year due to higher risk government loan programs, actual fraud losses are lower because origination volume is down by 26 percent.

The government's key foreclosure prevention program has put 504,648 distressed homeowners into permanently modified loans since its launch in March 2009. Treasury released new numbers for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Wednesday, and in addition to crossing the 500K threshold, the data show that servicers stepped up their use of the program. Permanent modifications in November rose 26 percent compared to October, and 20 percent more trial mods were started.