Its likely that little in the way of money is changing hands on the deal. By selling the MSRs to Fannie, Citi is also settling the payment of compensatory fee claims the GSE is owed by the bank.
According to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, Flagstar is the nations second largest wholesale/broker lender. It also has a fairly large presence in the warehouse market.
It may be time for the mortgage industry to take a chill-pill: applications are on the rise again, rates have stabilized and some firms are actually hiring loan officers.
When it comes to the new QM rule lenders are operating from a position of fear. You can bet that mortgage attorneys in the Washington DC area have racked up the billable hours, holding their clients hands and supplying legal advice as the clock strikes midnight.
The mergers-and-acquisitions market is expected to be robust this year thanks to falling loan production, which likely will force weaker players in the mortgage industry to align with stronger partners. But now theres another reason why M&A activity could be brisk: new servicing rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. According to industry officials and Fitch Ratings, new servicing rules will drive up compliance costs for all servicers, but smaller players including community banks and nonbanks could see their profits erode as they increase spending to stay compliant. In a new report, Fitch writes...