Mortgage risk-management experts say there’s a silver lining to every cloud, especially when it comes to the number of lenders leaving the subprime market for greener pastures. It’s a negative trend that could have a positive effect on the way subprime lenders approve loans.

Southern California-based REOTrans, a platform that helps lenders manage and sell foreclosed homes, has announced plans to double its existing office space by creating ergonomic office environments inside its Los Angeles headquarters.

It’s not easy selling a home when the old residents refuse to leave. It’s even harder when those residents are a family of whiny birds! Beverly McDonald, a representative with Century 21 Fite in Southlake, Texas, says she’ll never forget the time when she arrived at one of her listings and found a family of loud, hissing turkey vultures sitting on the roof.

While the Center for Responsible Lending and various consumer groups are pushing for reforms in the subprime lending sector, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says it prefers consumer education over excessively rigid legislation.

HSBC Holdings PLC, one of the world’s largest banks, is one of the first to report a negative transcontinental reaction to the troubles brewing in the U.S subprime loan market. The company says its increasing its loan-loss provisions for 2006 after critically reviewing the impact of slowing house price growth and accelerated delinquency rates in the U.

A tumultuous lending market and unexpected financial losses have caused Irvine, California-based New Century Financial Corp. to strengthen its loan underwriting guidelines—a measure that will directly impact the company’s two mortgage lending subsidiaries, New Century Mortgage Corp.

Milwaukee-based mortgage insurer MGIC Investment Corp. is forming a preeminent mortgage and credit risk insurer through its strategic merger with Radian Group Inc.—a Philadelphia-based credit risk management company.

New York Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYMT), says it has entered into a definitive agreement with IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. to sell certain assets of NYMT’s wholly owned taxable REIT subsidiary, The New York Mortgage Co.

Martin Eakes, CEO of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), warned a group of federal legislators Wednesday about the escalating risk of home foreclosures due to predatory lending practices in the subprime market.

Filing cases in different states can be a major headache for attorneys who specialize in default servicing. To address these challenges, DepotPoint, a leading provider of mortgage technology services, has launched a fully-integrated intelligent foreclosure regulatory database.