The default risk for Agency mortgage loan originations rose in January, marking the fifth straight month-over-month increase, according to the composite National Mortgage Risk Index (NMRI) released by AEI's International Center on Housing Risk. In January, the NMRI for Agency purchase loans increased to a series high of 11.94 percent. That number represented an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the October through December average and a jump of 0.8 percentage points from January 2014.

Counsel's Corner is an ongoing series in which DS News talks with default servicing attorneys around the country about the most pressing issues facing the default servicing industry. This installment features Marcy Ford, Managing Partner at Detroit-based Trott Law, P.C.

New York-based private investment firm BlueMountain Capital, a purported holder of notes issued by HLSS Servicer Advance Receivables Trust (HSART) wrote a letter last month accusing Ocwen of breach of contract and default on certain notes serviced by HLSS. Ocwen subsequently issued a statement vowing to "vigorously defend itself" against BlueMountain's accusations.

New household formation in the United States has recovered from the widespread job losses that came with the recession, according to a new study from the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California.

Florida-based data and analytics firm Black Knight Financial Services has come up with a solution to identify the risk associated with mortgages that have been given "super-lien priority" status, according to an announcement from Black Knight.

One of the major complaints of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)'s critics is a lack of Congressional oversight for the Bureau. Lawmakers have re-introduced a bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives in an attempt to change that. U.S. Representative Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), along with U.S. Representative Tim Walz (D-Minnesota) re-introduced the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Act of 2015, a bill that would create the position of an independent Inspector General for the CFPB.

Freddie Mac has helped nearly 1.1 million struggling homeowners either retain their homes or otherwise avoid foreclosure through a variety of means since the beginning of 2009, four months after the FHFA conservatorship began, according to the GSE's 2014 Financial Results Summary released on Thursday.

Collaborative product engineering leader Indecomm Global Services has announced the initiation of IT operations in Costa Rica, offering North American clients the increased efficiencies of service in the same time zone.

Borrowers eligible for payment will soon be receiving replacement checks for the funds they were scheduled to receive under the Independent Foreclosure Review Payment Agreements, according to an announcement from the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Wednesday.

Freddie Mac will report its fourth quarter and full year 2014 financial results in a conference call with the media on Thursday, February 19, beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern time, according to an announcement from the GSE.