Benjamin Lawsky, a relatively unknown New York State regulator, has put the fast-growing non-bank mortgage servicing industry’s business model in jeopardy. Look no further than Ocwen Financial for proof of a servicing segment that remains marred in uncertainty.

Ocwen is reeling following a dispute with Lawsky that killed a promising a $39 billion acquisition of Wells Fargo’s servicing rights. News of the cancelled deal in mid-November sent the company’s shares down as much as 67 percent from their 52-week high. The stock has recovered slightly, but is still off more than 50 percent from a December 2013 high of $58.07.

Now, investors are left wondering whether the servicer – likened to a shark – will be allowed to continue feeding on new mortgages.

Read on.

This is not a surprise to me as I was told by a financial analyst in the ’90’s that there would be four banks that would control the GDP in this country. Wells Fargo and Bank of America were the ones mentioned.

The wreckage of the financial crisis led to pages upon pages of financial reform aimed at ending the era of Too Big To Fail, but six years after the banking system blew up the five biggest firms control 44% of the $15.3 trillion in assets held by U.S. banks according to data compiledby SNL Financial. Those banks — JPMorgan ChaseJPM-0.42%, Bank of AmericaBAC-0.67%, Wells FargoWFC+0.11%, CitigroupC-0.31% and US BancorpUSB+0.23% — collectively held $6.8 trillion in assets as of Sept. 30.

JPMorgan holds just over $2 trillion in assets, or 13.1% of the industry’s total…

Abraham Lincoln is well known for being our 16th president and a resident of Illinois, but his story starts in Kentucky—where he was born and from where his family was forced to move due to land title issues.

Read on watch video below.

http://video.firstam.tv/previews/FztPdwZE-h9oGcqo5

SEC.gov:

On November 20, 2014, Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. notified the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Ocwen Financial Corporation (the “Company”) of his decision to resign as a director on the Board effective immediately as a result of his election as Vice Chairman of Bank of Cyprus and the requirements of certain European regulations which limit directorships of bank officers. Mr. Ross is simultaneously resigning from the board of directors of several other public companies. Mr. Ross’ decision to resign as a director was not due to any disagreements with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.

Cross-posted from The Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen

The deposition of Lona Hunt took place on October 17, 2014, during which time Ms. Hunt was questioned about her knowledge of the truth and accuracy of the facts in the foreclosure complaint, which she allegedly verified. During the deposition, Ms. Hunt admitted twice that she did not read the complaint, even though she swore, in the complaint,under penalty of perjury, that she had.  Further, with her limited knowledge, it was impossible for her to truthfully and accurately verify all the facts alleged in the complaint.  Our blog post on this with more detail is here.

After the deposition, we quickly prepared, filed and set down for hearing a Motion to Strike Verification of the Complaint as a Sham.  The hearing was set for next week and we were looking forward to seeing the look on the judge’s…

Great job Senator Warren for putting the pressure on FHFA head Mel Watt!

Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac will let borrowers who have gone through foreclosure buy back their homes at market prices under a policy shift announced by the regulator for the two U.S.-owned companies.

The change outlined by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in a statement today essentially gives some people who owe more than their homes are worth a way to cut mortgage debt. The step follows criticism consumer groups and some Democratic lawmakers who have called for broader principal reduction for homeowners.

“This is a targeted, but important policy change that should help reduce property vacancies and stabilize home values and neighborhoods,” FHFA Director Melvin L. Watt said in the agency’s statement.

Read on.