Loss Mitigation

The U.S. Treasury announced details on Tuesday of new efforts to help bring relief to responsible homeowners under the Making Home Affordable Program. The new program components include an initiative that specifically addresses modifications on second lien mortgages and a set of measures intended to provide assistance to those borrowers who are underwater – meaning the value of their home is less than the outstanding balance owed on their mortgage.

The U.S. Treasury Department has released the names of four more servicers who have officially signed on to participate in the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program. Joining the list of participants is Wilshire Credit Corporation, Pittsburgh’s Home Loan Services, Countrywide Home Loans, and Bank of America.

Bank of America announced on Monday that it has combined its mortgage and home equity operations with Countrywide Home Loans under the umbrella of a single brand – Bank of America Home Loans. BofA said that just 10 months after acquiring the subprime lending leader, the Countrywide brand is now retired.

The Pennsylvania Department of Banking recently ordered four out-of-state mortgage modification companies to stop engaging in unlicensed activity in the state. The department issued cease and desist orders against Consumer Loan Modification of Arizona, U.

There’s plenty of blame to go around for America’s subprime mortgage crisis, but according to a researcher at the Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the types of data banks used to evaluate risk may be the culprit for its proliferation.

Michigan-based Potestivo & Associates, P.C. has announced the firm’s acceptance as an Eagle member of the newly created Wingspan Professional Attorney Network (WPAN). As part of this network, Potestivo & Associates will provide mortgage default and legal support to specialty servicer Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, LLC.

Ocwen Financial Corporation, a subprime mortgage servicer headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, was added to the government’s short list of mortgage companies under contract for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HMP) on Monday.

HOPE NOW’s ‘Bringing Hope Home’ bus tour made its way to Atlanta on Saturday, the second stop in a four-city journey to raise awareness about the foreclosure problems facing families in local communities and direct struggling homeowners to the resources available in their area that can help them avoid losing their homes.

Minneapolis-based Wolters Kluwer Financial Services announced on Thursday that it has enhanced the company’s suite of mortgage compliance documentation solutions to help financial institutions participate in the Treasury Department’s new Making Home Affordable program.

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac modified nearly 24,000 loans during the fourth quarter of 2008, an increase of 76 percent over the third quarter, according to data released this week by the GSEs’ regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).