Tag Archives: Special Servicer

Despite recent gains, which some of us believe are more of a mirage than an oasis, the economy still isn't creating enough good-paying full-time jobs to drive a full recovery in the housing market. At the same time, stricter lending requirements--and a lending environment likely to get more challenging before it gets easier--are the other major headwinds that could slow down housing.

Fay Servicing, a Chicago-based special servicer, has earned stable outlooks from both S&P and Fitch Ratings. According to the agencies' assessments, the rating actions are based on Fay's robust single point of contact (SPOC) model and integrated servicing technology.

Independent mortgage bankers are a growing segment and they're poised to take over even more market share as larger institutions trim their mortgage businesses. The five biggest banks were responsible for 53.2 percent of new mortgage activity in the United States in 2012, down from nearly two-thirds in 2010. According to a recent FBR Capital Markets forecast, that share could shrink to 40 percent by 2014.

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors named industry veteran Susan Pettem to the newly created position of EVP for business development. Pettem has spent more than 30 years in the mortgage business and has led national sales and major accounts efforts for several large companies.

Rushmore Loan Management Services LLC made announcements of two positive corporate developments Thursday. Rushmore has received approval to act as a Freddie Mac seller/servicer--a nod the company says will significantly expand its business. In addition, Standard & Poor's assigned an average rating to Rushmore as a residential special servicer and residential primary servicer, ranking the company's management and operations as above average.

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a diversified mortgage services company operating in Dallas, was named for the second straight year in Inc. Magazine's Hire Power Awards, a list of the top 100 businesses in America for job creation. Having earned the No. 65 spot in the 2012 inaugural list, Wingspan's ranking moved up to No. 5, making it the highest ranking company in the financial services sector this year.

Fay Servicing, a Chicago-based special servicer, announced the launch of an initiative to create strategic partnerships with mortgage lenders and help train originators for careers in servicing. The program is designed to provide training to hone key skills such as managing initial calls with borrowers, meeting compliance requirements, and conducting a Personal Budget Analysis (PBA) for borrowers.

FBR Capital Markets on Wednesday raised its projection for new mortgage volume in the third quarter to $400-$420 billion, largely due to more activity from special servicers as larger banks relinquish market share. FBR anticipates strong performance from these specialty servicers, partly because of their ability to effectually mine acquired portfolios for refinancing opportunities.

Investment bank FBR Capital Markets released its preview of third-quarter earnings for major U.S. banks Monday, with a cloudy outlook for mortgage banking. In general, bank stocks have underperformed the broader market by about 2 percent over the third quarter; and zeroing in on the mortgage market, FBR is not optimistic about Q3 results.