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46 | TH E M R EP O RT THE LATEST O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T SERVICING SPS Comes in No. 1 for RMBS Ocwen and Nationstar take No. 2 and 3 spots. S elect Portfolio Servic- ing (SPS) has taken the top spot in the nation's non-agency RMBS servicing market, surpassing previous No. 1 Ocwen, according to the most recent Fitch Ratings' U.S. RMBS Servicer Handbook. Though mortgage servicer port - folios are generally seeing their non-agency exposure decline as of late, according to Fitch, SPS "is proving to be a notable anomaly." "The slow return of the new issue RMBS market continues, though not enough to offset de - clines in non-agency portfolios," a release from Fitch Ratings stated. "SPS is an exception as one of the few non-agency servicers that has seen dramatic growth in its portfolio over the last year." SPS's total non-agency portfolio for 2016 was comprised of 410,286 loans and a total balance of $80.03 billion—marking an increase of nearly $9 billion and 77,000 loans year-over-year. The jump is a result of a number of SPS acquisi - tions that occurred over the last year, according to Fitch Ratings Managing Director Roelof Slump. "SPS has grown largely through successful acquisition of seasoned portfolios from large bank servicers," Slump said, "with much of the new product coming in the form of subprime loans." Ocwen came in at No. 2 and Nationstar No. 3, which had 403,609 loans and a balance of $78.2 billion at the end of Q 4 2016. According to Fitch, Ocwen is still the servicer with the most non-agency loans in its portfo - lio, though that could stand to change as Nationstar and Cenlar are poised to assume much of CitiMortgage's product as it exits the market. "Nationstar will be an area of focus as 2017 progresses, as they are likely to inherit CitiMortgage's agency product as its gradual exit from servicing continues," Slump said. "Another servicer of note will be Cenlar, who stands to take over much of Citi's non-agency portfolio." The U.S. RMBS Service Handbook includes all Fitch-rated servicers, as well as their ratings, portfolio size, attributes, trends, and more. The handbook, along with ratings and portfolio size, is updated quarterly as servicers release data. See the full updated handbook at FitchRatings.com. Loan Modifications Jump by 3 Percent More than 102,000 consumers modified their loans in January. I n January 2017, an estimated 29,000 homeowners received permanent loan modifica- tions from mortgage ser- vicers during the month accord- ing to HOPE NOW, a non-profit alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, counselors, and other mortgage market participants. This total includes modifications completed under both propri - etary programs and the govern- ment's Home Affordable Modifi- cation Program (HAMP). Of the permanent loan modi- fications performed that month, approximately 20,000 were through proprietary programs while 9,521 were through HAMP. The HAMP program ended of - ficially in December 2016, though servicers will continue to review homeowners who applied before December 31. Loan modifications increased by 3 percent from December 2016 to January 2017. Total non- foreclosure solutions, such as total loan modifications, short sales, deeds in lieu, and workout plans, for January 2017 approximated 102,000, compared to 26,000 fore - closure sales. Additionally, foreclosure starts and sales saw an increase in those two months. Foreclosure starts jumped from 49,000 in December to 55,000 in January, while foreclosure sales jumped from 20,000 to 26,000 in that same time. HOPE NOW noted that increases in foreclosure starts and sales are typical with their historical data. Although sales and starts are up month-over- month, the year-over-year data saw decreases. Starts are down 4 percent from January 2016, and sales are down 22 percent. Other non-foreclosure options decreased in January. Short sales dropped from 4,200 in December to 3,700 in January, while the number of deeds in-lieu stayed at 1,200 in that time. Serious delin - quencies were down month-over- month in January, slipping from 1.50 million in December to 1.46 million in January. "The HOPE NOW Alliance continues to work with home - owners in need and emphasizes on assisting those that are having difficulties with their mortgage," HOPE NOW Executive Director Eric Selk said. "Our monthly col - lection of data indicates that the housing market is improving and setting new norms in the post- crisis environment." "SPS has grown largely through successful acquisition of seasoned portfolios from large bank servicers, with much of the new product coming in the form of subprime loans." —Roelof Slump, Managing Director, Fitch Ratings