Lenders apprehensive about implementing tech for closings

Some mortgage lenders are still lukewarm about embracing fully digital solutions for closing a loan, even after all of the gains made during the pandemic. A survey of 100 lenders in December found that only about half (47%) of the participants closed a loan package using a piece of technology, such as eSignatures and remote online notarization. About 30% of the lenders surveyed by Wolters Kluwer reported not finding the right vendor for the job, or noted budgetary constraints as the reason for not implementing digital solutions. 17% of participants reported not being sure "what value [digital solutions] bring."

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Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac get servicing valuation rules from FHFA

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued an advisory bulletin regarding the government-sponsored enterprises' need to establish and implement risk management policies and procedures for valuing and monitoring mortgage servicing rights portfolios. "Enterprise-wide risk management policies and procedures should be commensurate with an Enterprise's risk appetite, and based on an assessment of seller/servicer financial strength and MSR risk exposure levels," the bulletin stated. "Although seller/servicers assign values to their MSRs, the Enterprises should have their own processes to evaluate the reasonableness of seller/servicer MSR values." This bulletin applies only to single-family MSR portfolios and is effective on April 1.

City National Bank settles DOJ redlining allegations for $31 million

City National Bank in Los Angeles has agreed to pay $31 million to settle allegations of lending discrimination by the Justice Department in the largest redlining settlement in the agency's history. The Justice Department said in a complaint filed Thursday that City National avoided offering home loans in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Los Angeles County from 2017 to 2020. Long known as "the bank to the stars" because of its ties to Hollywood and wealthy clients, City National was acquired by Royal Bank of Canada in 2015.

Sagent names former Fannie Mae executive as COO

Marianne Sullivan, who was senior vice president of single-family business operations at Fannie Mae between 2014 and 2017, is now charged with overseeing the start of the second phase in a multi-year plan Sagent has to modernize servicing. Sullivan also served as Fannie's chief risk officer between 2007 and 2014. Her appointment follows the first phase of Sagent's plan, which was to partner with publicly traded mortgage servicer Mr. Cooper with the aim of jointly developing cloud native technology. In that partnership, Mr. Cooper acquired a 20% equity stake in Sagent. Mr. Cooper also became a staging customer for Sagent, with the technology vendor acquiring components of the servicer's innovations in automation.

New York foreclosure law may lead to dismissals of older cases

New York's newly enacted foreclosure law suggests servicers should closely reexamine older distressed mortgages they have in the state as it may lead the courts to dismiss certain cases against borrowers. In the final week of 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, a bill passed last spring by the New York State Legislature to roll back an appeals court decision that had given servicers more leeway to extend the statute of limitations in foreclosure cases. Both chambers of the legislature approved the bill , which restricted servicers ability to do this, by a wide margin and on a bipartisan basis. The law became effective immediately, leaving a question mark hanging over certain older liens and heightening concerns about how to proceed with future cases.?

California lender accuses CrossCountry of racketeering

A California lender alleges CrossCountry Mortgage used a "transition desk" of dedicated staff to poach one of its branch managers and divert loans to the competitor, according to a new lawsuit. Chula Vista-based American Mortgage Network accuses CrossCountry of racketeering, among 10 counts, in a complaint filed Tuesday in a Georgia federal court. CrossCountry already faces a slew of similar accusations , but AmNet's lawsuit is the rare, if not sole complaint also charging the lender with a civil count of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act which is often associated with criminal enterprises.?

Housing inventory grew in December as market remained sluggish

Active listings in the final month of 2022 came in 54.7% higher on an annual basis, Realtor.com's December data report showed. But compared to year-end pre-pandemic numbers from 2019, supply was still lower by 33.4%. The growth in for-sale homes over the last 12 months came more as a result of a sluggish environment with properties staying on the market longer, rather than an influx of new listings. New homes on the market dropped by 21% year over year and came in 17.7% lower than December 2019.

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