Tag Archives: Foreclosure

The government of New York is taking further steps to try to stem the tide of foreclosures that still lingers in the Empire State today. New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the launch of the New York State Mortgage Assistance Program, or NYS MAP, which will provide targeted small loans to families with the aim of helping them avoid foreclosure.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed nearly 3.2 million foreclosure prevention actions since the start of the government's conservatorship of the two companies in 2008. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Foreclosure Prevention Report, 88,000 actions were performed in the first quarter of 2014 alone.

Mortgage performance is on the rise, and foreclosures are on the decline at the nation’s largest banks, according to the first-quarter Mortgage Metrics Report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Representing 48 percent of outstanding first-lien residential mortgages, the OCC report includes data on mortgages at the nation’s seven largest servicers, based on portfolio size, and one federal savings association.

As the United States economy continues to improve, the challenges facing the banking industry gradually shift from recovery to risk management in an effort to avoid the pitfalls that contributed to the financial crisis. In that spirit, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency released its Semiannual Risk Perspective of Spring 2014, offering an overview on the current health of the market and highlighting the significant risk related challenges that currently that face the banking industry.

Black Knight Financial Services released its "First Look" at May Mortgage data, which found that foreclosure inventory declined to its lowest level since July 2008. As a percentage of total inventory, foreclosure pre-sale inventory is 1.91 percent, down 5.56 percent month-over month.

In its May 2014 Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report, RealtyTrac reported that U.S. properties sold at an estimated annual pace of 5.1 million in May. The pace of sold homes remained virtually unchanged from April, with a small increase of less than 1 percent from May 2013.

Serious mortgage delinquencies fell in Colorado from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, according to the Colorado Division of Housing. Mortgage delinquencies of 90 days or more fell to 1.3 percent in the first quarter, down from 1.5 percent to close out 2013.

SunTrust Banks, Inc., announced it has struck a nearly $1 billion deal with the government to settle allegations of misconduct in both its lending and servicing practices. In an agreement reached with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Justice Department, HUD, and attorneys general in 49 states and the District of Columbia, SunTrust agreed to provide relief to consumers and payments to the government totaling a combined value of $968 million

HOPE NOW released its latest data on loan modifications, noting that in April approximately 42,000 homeowners completed a modification for their home's mortgage. All told, the organization reported that more than 7.02 million homeowners have completed home mortgage modifications since the third quarter of 2007.

Ocwen, the nation's fourth largest mortgage servicer, has agreed to pay $3.7 million to resolve allegations that it failed to give notice to homeowners, and that the company unlawfully foreclosed on properties in Massachusetts. The announcement came from the state's Attorney General Martha Coakley, who alleged the non-bank servicer failed to follow Massachusetts law when handling certain mortgage loans.