A relocation has Penncro Associates Inc. creating 550 jobs in support of mortgage servicing, the company said. Headcount at specialty servicer Wingspan Portfolio Advisors has grown to 300 employees. Wingspan’s founder speculated that that staff size could reach 600 within a year.

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Aspen Financial Services faces at least the fifth investor lawsuit filed since 2008. The company is a hard-money lender. Aspen has moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed against it in January by an investor who is a Las Vegas attorney.

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February new business acquisitions were $58 billion, operational data indicated. Business sank from $74 billion a month earlier. The 22 percent month-over-month decline contrasts a slight improvement reported by rival Freddie Mac.

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The Obama administration has proposed requiring the nation’s largest mortgage servicers to spend $20 billion modifying loans of delinquent borrowers to make them more affordable as part of a deal with state attorneys general. If the plan succeeds, the president would attain a key goal sought by community groups and Democratic grass-root constituencies. In the House, Rep. Barney Frank (Mass.-D) is resurrecting the idea of levying a tax on the biggest banks to raise money for the loan modifications.

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CitiMortgage Inc. has agreed to a $2 million settlement in a class action, a news release said. A class action was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington against EMC Mortgage Corp., Keller Rohrback LLP announced. Last September, Ohio’s attorney general said a motion to dismiss the state’s lawsuit against HomEq Servicing was denied.

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A 5-basis-point weekly jump was recorded for the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in Freddie Mac’s latest survey. “The rate uptick was related to higher-than-anticipated inflation data for February and ongoing geopolitical concerns,” explained Freddie’s chief in the report. A look at 10-year Treasury activity this past week suggests rates could rise another 5 BPS by next week’s reports.

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Three surviving spouses of reverse-mortgage borrowers have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The case was filed by the American Association of Retired Persons. The suit argues that new rules on reverse mortgages are forcing elderly people out of their homes following the death of their spouse.

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The Mortgage Litigation Index was up 42 percent betwen the thrid- and fourth-quarter 2010. The report indicates that 151 mortgage-related lawsuits had case activity reported between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 by Mortgage Daily . Activity leapt from just 106 three months earlier according to the index. Servicing litigation surged to 26 cases from five in the third quarter.

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Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc. announced it would expand into reverse mortgage originations. Business will be generated from a new retail channel. However, a correspondent channel has also been created.

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The rate of 90-day delinquency on U.S. first mortgages dropped 39 basis points between January and February, according to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices. On second mortgages, the rate fell 5 BPS. The composite credit default index improved 35 BPS.

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