News

Data released by the FDIC Tuesday show that lenders' are seeing considerable improvement in the quality of loans and becoming more confident that fewer borrowers will default. First-quarter loan loss provisions totaled $20.7 billion, less than half the $51.6 billion set aside to cover bad loans a year ago, and loans and leases 90 days or more past due or in nonaccrual status fell for a fourth consecutive quarter. At the same time, though, the number of banks on the FDIC's so-called ""problem list"" is at its highest level since 1993.

Consumers who only defaulted on their mortgage during the economic recession pose far less of a risk than consumers who went delinquent on multiple credit accounts, according to TransUnion. The credit bureau says its study showed that consumers with mortgage-only defaults performed better on new loans than those with multiple delinquencies, and this was evident across all credit scoring ranges. TransUnion also says it found no evidence that borrowers who stopped paying their mortgage had an increased cash flow in the short term.

Residential Credit Solutions announced Tuesday that it has issued a newly created asset-backed securitization comprised of residential loans and real estate. The secondary market offering carries a value of more than $110 million. Forty-four percent of the structure is collateralized with delinquent mortgages and REO properties and 46 percent is current mortgage loans.

Under the terms of a settlement reached with HUD late last week, U.S. Bank will pay $1.2 million to resolve allegations that it failed to comply with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements in connection with 27 mortgage loans. U.S. Bank is the FHA's eighth largest mortgage lender. U.S. Bank did not admit any liability, but HUD documented losses of more than $465,000 in relation to these loans.

Prommis Solutions, a provider of outsourced services for the mortgage default resolution process, has promoted five executives. Kevin Phelan, Brandy Green, Matthew Thigpen, Michelle Ansley and Steven Collier have all been promoted to new executive positions, giving them new responsibilities in support of the company's growth plans for the remainder of 2011 and into 2012.

MMREM, a national asset management firm for federal agencies and private sector servicers, investors, and insurers, launched its partial subsidiary Sperlonga Data and Analytics last week. Sperlonga provides servicers, title agents, real estate brokers, appraisers, and originators with a centralized repository of homeowner association (HOA) information and payment demands.

Prices on U.S. commercial real estate fell 4.2 percent in March, according to a national index released by Moody's Investors Service this week. The latest drop brings the index down to its lowest level since its peak in October 2007. A high volume of distressed transactions are weighing on price performance, Moody's says. However, the agency's analysts note that they've seen a pick-up recently in the number of deals trading hands overall, which they see as a positive sign for the commercial real estate market as it sets the stage for recovery.

California's distressed home sales dropped in April for the second consecutive month, according to the state's local Realtors group. The California Association of Realtors reports that the total share of all distressed property types sold statewide - including REOs and short sales - declined to 48 percent, down from 51 percent in March. The group says bargain hunters and investors were joined last month by homebuyers who are timing their decisions to coincide with the start of the spring season and targeting more non-distressed properties.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced the creation of a 25-person task force on Monday charged with protecting homeowners from mortgage fraud. Within the last year, the California Department of Justice says it has received thousands of complaints related to foreclosure scams and mortgage servicing practices. In addition to fraud on the default side of the business, the task force will be on the lookout for misconduct and false claims involving investments and securities tied to subprime mortgages.

Treasury has launched a Web-based tool that allows homeowners themselves to conduct a net present value (NPV) assessment of their mortgage. Under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), servicers perform an NPV test to determine if modification is a more financially sound route to take than allowing the loan to proceed to foreclosure. Treasury is encouraging both homeowners who have been denied a HAMP mod and those considering applying for the program to use the new online calculator and share the results with their servicer.