Freddie Mac
Browse articles from all of our Newsletters related to Freddie Mac.
June 18, 2013 - IMFnews
Only a crazy person would speculate in GSE junior preferred stock. Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein reveals himself.
June 18, 2013 - IMFnews
Former Regulator Lockhart: Let GSEs Issue MBS Without Insurance
Former GSE regulator James Lockhart noted that only one “catastrophic” guarantor is needed, though he stressed that “you need more than one issuer.”
June 17, 2013 - Inside the CFPB
Industry Wants More Guidance On Temporary QM for GSE Loans
The American Bankers Association asked the CFPB for more detailed guidance on the “temporary qualified mortgage” for government-sponsored enterprise and agency mortgage loans. Earlier this year, the bureau proposed some amendments to its mortgage rules under the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act. Among them are some proposed revised commentaries regarding the standards that a creditor must meet when relying upon a written guide or the automated underwriting system of one of the GSEs, the...
June 14, 2013 - Inside FHA Lending
Wells Fargo Agrees to Settle REO Anti-Bias Charge
Wells Fargo has reached an agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and fair housing advocacy groups to improve its handling of foreclosed and abandoned homes and resolve allegations of discrimination in the maintenance and marketing of real estate-owned properties. The National Fair Housing Alliance and several other fair housing groups filed a complaint with HUD in April last year after observing that Wells’ foreclosed homes in minority neighborhoods did not receive the same treatment and care as the bank’s REO properties in white neighborhoods. The NFHA, which conducted an ...
June 14, 2013 - Inside MBS & ABS
Agencies Drive Mortgage Securitization Rates to Record Levels in 1Q13, Timing Issues a Factor
New single-family MBS issuance accounted for a record 90.1 percent of home loan originations during the first quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. An estimated $500.0 billion of new home mortgages were originated during the first three months of the year, down 4.8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2012, as refinance activity began to weaken. But mortgage securitization activity declined at a slower pace, falling just 0.6 percent in the first quarter. That pushed...[Includes one data chart]
June 13, 2013 - Inside Mortgage Finance
Trade Groups: Freddie’s Low-Volume Fee ‘Goes Too Far’ for Community Lenders
Freddie Mac’s recently announced low-activity fee for seller/servicers not meeting new quotas for loan deliveries and mortgage servicing would limit the ability of community banks to provide mortgages to their customers and should be repealed before the policy takes effect next year, according to two industry trade groups. Last week, the Independent Community Bankers of America dispatched a letter to the government-sponsored enterprise and its conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, stating that Freddie’s assessment of a $7,500 annual fee to lenders who fail to deliver mortgage loans with an aggregate principal balance of more than $5 million or who service mortgages for the GSE with an aggregate balance of at least $25 million “goes too far.” The trade group complained...
June 13, 2013 - Inside Mortgage Finance
The federal government seized control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by extra-legal means during the 2008 financial crisis and then went out of its way to curtail the two government-sponsored enterprises’ profits while unjustly denying GSE shareholders just compensation for their deliberately devalued holdings, according to a lawsuit filed this week. The suit filed by GSE shareholders in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC, asserts the takeover of Fannie and Freddie by the Federal Housing Finance Agency was “unlawful and unwarranted” and an unconstitutional violation of due process which cost investors billions of dollars. “Even if a statutory basis existed...
June 13, 2013 - IMFnews
FHFA Holds Two-Day, Closed Door Private Meetings with Force-Placed Insurance ‘Stakeholders’
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is holding a two-day, closed-door working group Thursday and Friday with force-placed insurance stakeholders following the FHFA’s recent actions to shutter an insurance proposal by Fannie Mae and its policy proposal to develop a set of force-placed aligned standards.
June 12, 2013 - IMFnews
The M&A rumor mill continues to spit out names. An offering book is circulating on CashCall and at least one other shop, IMF has learned.
June 12, 2013 - IMFnews
Chairman of House Panel Weighs Replacing GSEs with a Non-Agency Market
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY, countered that a purely non-agency mortgage market would be “a disaster to our economy.”
June 12, 2013 - IMFnews
BofA Settlement Sends Bank Repurchase Activity to Second Highest Level Ever
Bank of America recorded $10.45 billion of mortgage repurchases and indemnifications during the first quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of recently released call report data.
June 11, 2013 - IMFnews
Freddie Mac's low activity fee could add more than $2 million to its bottom line.
June 11, 2013 - IMFnews
GSE Shareholders Sue U.S. in Claims Court, Want $41 Billion in Damages
Among the many allegations, the plaintiffs charge that the seizure of Fannie and Freddie was “unlawful and unwarranted” and represents an unconstitutional violation of due process which cost investors billions of dollars.
June 11, 2013 - IMFnews
Agency MBS Issuance Down Slightly in May, But Still Ahead of Last Year’s Pace
Roughly $148 billion of single-family agency MBS were issued last month, down almost 3 percent from April’s level. May was the slowest month for agency MBS issuance so far in 2013.
June 10, 2013 - IMFnews
Will cash-out refinancings ever return? Meanwhile, a new petition posted on the White House website that might helps GSE shareholders is taking off.
June 10, 2013 - IMFnews
ICBA Demands Repeal of Freddie’s Low-Activity Fee
Community banks are getting slapped with a "low activity" fee from Freddie Mac and the ICBA is not happy.
June 7, 2013 - Inside The GSEs
FHFA Proposal Would Draft FHLBank Credit Ratings
The Federal Housing Finance Agency would see the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks come up with their own internal credit rating system under a proposed rule issued by the FHFA two weeks ago. Published in the May 23 Federal Register, the Finance Agency proposal would remove a number of credit rating references and requirements in certain safety and soundness regulations affecting the FHLBanks. FHFA regulations require the FHLBanks to assess the credit-worthiness of a security or money market instrument that either the Bank is considering investing in or the Bank is helping another financial institution invest in.
June 7, 2013 - Inside The GSEs
FHFA Settles Second MBS Lawsuit with Citigroup
The Federal Housing Finance Agency has settled its second mortgage-backed securities lawsuit in its massive litigation effort against non-agency MBS issuers and underwriters that sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Citigroup last week agreed to pay damages to settle allegations that the investment bank sold $3.5 billion of faulty MBS to the two GSEs in the years leading up to the financial crisis. The FHFA filed suit during the summer of 2011 against 18 financial institutions, including Citi, alleging violations of the federal Securities Act of 1933.
June 7, 2013 - Inside The GSEs
Freddie to Impose Lender Low-Activity Fee
Seller/servicers doing business with Freddie Mac will be charged a so-called low-activity fee for not meeting new quotas for loan deliveries and mortgage servicing beginning next year, according to a recent policy change announced by the GSE. Freddie said it will assess lenders a fee of $7,500 if they fail to deliver mortgage loans with an aggregate principal balance of more than $5 million or service mortgages for the GSE with an aggregate balance of at least $25 million. Freddie will begin monitoring loan sales and servicing beginning this year and imposing the low-activity fee on slackers beginning January of next year.
June 7, 2013 - Inside The GSEs
FHFA Extends HAMP, Streamlined Mod Through 2015
The Federal Housing Finance Agency last week directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to extend both the Home Affordable Modification Program and their streamlined modification initiative until 2015. The move was in concert with actions by the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Both agencies said they would extend HAMP for non-Fannie and Freddie loans, but the FHFA’s directive makes the extension applicable to loans owned or guaranteed by the GSEs.“These extensions keep two valuable foreclosure prevention programs available to those who need them,” said FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco. “The extensions also align the end date for three key assistance programs that were developed in response to the housing crisis.”
June 7, 2013 - Inside The GSEs
Watt FHFA Nod a ‘Long Shot’ to Get 60 Senate Votes
The nomination of Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, by President Obama to be the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency is considered a “long shot” on Capitol Hill, but the distinct lack of enthusiasm by both supporters and detractors of the nominee means anything could happen, say industry observers. Despite the vocal support of progressives, especially advocates of principal reduction of GSE-held loans, Watt’s nomination to replace FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco is far from a sure thing, according to analysts at Compass Point Research & Trading. “We remain pessimistic regarding Rep. Watt’s nomination,” said Compass Point.
June 7, 2013 - Inside The GSEs
GSE Shareholders Want Obama to ‘Restore Fairness’
Organizers behind a recently filed White House petition are calling for the government to “restore fairness” to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac common shareholders. Created on June 1, the petition posted on the White House website calls for Congress, the Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to enact a method “to provide fairness and protection” to common shareholders of the two GSEs “and enable shareholders to have participation in the recovery of the value of their stock.” GSE common shareholders became entangled in a financial limbo of sorts when Fannie and Freddie were placed into government conservatorship under the FHFA in September 2008.
June 7, 2013 - Inside The GSEs
MBA Seeks Same Guaranty Fee for Lenders of All Sizes
As Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s portfolios wind down, the two GSEs should maintain sufficient balance sheet space to allow for the aggregation of loans from smaller lenders who are not yet ready to securitize, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s “concept paper” released this week also calls for the Federal Housing Finance Agency common securitization platform initiative to include plans for the acceptance of small lot deliveries into multi-lender pools.
June 7, 2013 - Inside The GSEs
ICBA: Make Good GSE Preferred Stock Losses
When Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed in government conservatorships in September 2008, roughly 600 banks and thrifts saw $8 billion of their preferred stock investments in the two GSEs evaporate. With both firms now wildly profitable, there is increasing hope and speculation that buyers of the “junior” preferred stock are in for an eventual payday. No one is more optimistic about that happening than the Independent Community Bankers of America. For the ICBA, the question boils down to how much on the dollar its members will receive for the shares they still own. It’s also a complicated question. When Fannie and Freddie hit the skids at the nadir of the housing bust, many banks and thrifts sold their preferred shares at market rates, that is, at something close to zero. In other words, they no longer have the stock certificates and any ownership rights. Speculators and bottom feeders do.
June 7, 2013 - Inside The GSEs
Proposed GSE Wind Down No Sure Thing
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of existence, the two GSEs aren’t going anywhere for the near-future, say industry observers. Two bills – one by a Republican GSE hawk filed two weeks ago, the other a bipartisan proposal soon to be submitted that would wind down and replace Fannie and Freddie over a period of 5 to 10 years – have cranked up the volume of chatter about the prospects of GSE reform on Capitol Hill. Don’t hold your breath because nothing has changed, according to financial industry consultant Bert Ely.
June 7, 2013 - IMFnews
Don't put too much stock in the new government figures on mortgage hiring. Some firms are cutting back like Pacific Union Financial.
June 7, 2013 - IMFnews
Despite White House Push, HARP 3.0 Likely is Going Nowhere
The Obama administration has mounted a public relations push, including a recent White House social media buzz, pushing for the HARP 3.0 program.
June 7, 2013 - Inside MBS & ABS
Agency MBS Issuance Down Slightly in May, 2013 Still Well Ahead of Last Year’s Pace
A slowdown in production at Freddie Mac was the main factor behind a decline in total agency MBS issuance in May, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. A total of $148.28 billion of single-family agency MBS were issued last month, down 2.6 percent from April’s level. May was the slowest month for agency MBS issuance so far in 2013, with slightly less volume than March’s $148.35 billion. Freddie’s production was...[Includes one data chart]
June 7, 2013 - Inside MBS & ABS
Emerging Senate GSE Reform Bill Tries to Preserve Agency MBS Market But Leaves a Lot Unresolved
The bipartisan legislation to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that’s taking shape in the Senate would leverage key reform projects already underway at the government-sponsored enterprises, but it doesn’t tackle some of the key transition issues the market would face by putting the GSEs out of business. The reform plan being put together by Sens. Bob Corker, R-TN, and Mark Warner, D-VA, has at its core the risk-sharing projects currently being designed by the GSEs, according to a copy of the draft legislation provided to Inside MBS & ABS. The Secondary Mortgage Market Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013 would also implement the common securitization platform that Fannie and Freddie are building under the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The legislation would put...
June 6, 2013 - Inside Mortgage Finance
MBA Seeks ‘Equal Access’ to Secondary Market For Smaller Lenders, Same Guaranty Fee for All
Small lenders should be afforded “equal access” to the secondary market and the same execution opportunities as their larger contemporaries, and they would under a reform plan proposed by the Mortgage Bankers Association. A “concept paper” released by the MBA this week recommends immediate steps the Federal Housing Finance Agency can take by way of secondary market reform of the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on behalf of lenders of all sizes, including inducing comparable guaranty fees and eliminating underwriting concessions for large lenders. The MBA called...
June 6, 2013 - Inside Mortgage Finance
The FHA, in a new crackdown on lenders with underwriting and delinquency problems, has sent “notification” letters to at least a dozen firms, Inside Mortgage Finance has learned. Advisors note that as many as 15 mortgage companies may have received warnings from the agency. According to the Collingwood Group, a Washington-based advisory firm, lenders were told they could soon lose their status as direct endorsement lenders, which means they have to get FHA insurance approvals through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “If you can’t engage...
June 6, 2013 - Inside Mortgage Finance
Servicing Deals Continue to Percolate; Will Flagstar Pull the Rip Cord and Sell $70 Billion in MSRs?
A few weeks back, Flagstar Bank sold roughly $12 billion in mortgage servicing rights in a private transaction for an undisclosed sum. To date, the sale has not been disclosed but that isn’t stopping players in the MSR market from talking about the transaction as well as rumors that Flagstar, at one time, was contemplating selling upwards of $70 billion of MSR. A source close to the deal said that Flagstar was definitely contemplating a large MSR transaction late last year “but tabled it.” A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment. If Flagstar had unloaded...
June 6, 2013 - Inside Mortgage Finance
Banks Increase Originations of Non-Agency Jumbo Mortgages, Seeing Demand in Secondary Market
Banks large and small are increasing their originations of non-agency jumbo mortgages, according to an analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. Demand for the mortgages in the secondary market has increased significantly recently, giving banks another option besides holding the loans in portfolio. An estimated $54.0 billion in non-agency jumbos were originated in the first quarter of 2013, up 14.9 percent from the first quarter of 2012. Fourteen of the top 20 non-agency jumbo lenders increased their originations during that period, including Bank of America and Chase, which each increased their jumbo originations by about 66 percent. Agency jumbo production – Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA business over the traditional $417,000 conforming loan limit – was...[Includes three data charts]
June 6, 2013 - Inside Mortgage Finance
Senate GSE Bill Would Ensure Secondary Market Access for Small Lenders, Declining Loan Limits
The bipartisan Senate legislation being drafted to finally resolve the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac attempts to meet the needs of a lot of interests in the mortgage finance industry, including small lenders, Wall Street, the multifamily business and even, potentially, current owners of common stock issued by the two government-sponsored enterprises. A discussion draft of the bill, the Secondary Mortgage Market Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013, outlines a broad plan for shutting down Fannie and Freddie and replacing them with a new entity – the Federal Mortgage Insurance Corp. – that is intended as a transition to a fully private mortgage market. A copy of the draft legislation, which is primarily the work of Sens. Bob Corker, R-TN, and Mark Warner, D-VA, was provided to Inside Mortgage Finance. The draft bill includes...
June 6, 2013 - IMFnews
Are Fannie and Freddie Sitting on Large Unrealized Gains in Their MBS Portfolios?
In its 10-Q filing for the first quarter, Fannie Mae reported $3.74 billion of “gross unrealized gains” on a host of different securities in its “available for sale” account.
June 6, 2013 - IMFnews
More Details on the Corker-Warner GSE Bill, Fannie/Freddie Shareholders Get A Break
The draft includes numerous provisions designed to ensure access to the revamped secondary market for credit unions and community banks with less than $10 billion in assets.
June 5, 2013 - IMFnews
MountainView Offering Just Over $2 Billion in MSRs
The MSR sales machine is cranking up at MountainView.
June 5, 2013 - IMFnews
White House Petition to ‘Restore Fairness’ to GSE Shareholders Not Looking Good
As of Wednesday morning, a GSE shareholder petition accessible through the White House website had 874 of the 100,000 signatures required by July 1.
June 4, 2013 - IMFnews
Corker-Warner GSE Bill Seeks to Establish ‘Credit Risk-Sharing’ for Mortgages
There is at least one curiosity in the GSE draft bill: any individual who ever served as a director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency is prohibited from serving as a board member on the new Federal Mortgage Insurance Corp.
June 3, 2013 - IMFnews
Funds Run by Former Lehman Manager Reveal Huge Holdings in GSE Preferred
Speculators have been gobbling up GSE junior preferred and common, hoping for a payout down the road tied to either the resumption of dividends or money that might come from a recovery fund.
June 3, 2013 - IMFnews
We continue to hear reports that certain commercial banks are discouraging their residential loan officers to take the state test and get licensed.
June 3, 2013 - IMFnews
MBA Seeks Same G-Fee for All Lenders, Regardless of Size
Any successor to the GSEs that operates with a federal guarantee should charge the same guaranty fee price for all sellers, regardless of size, the trade group says.
June 3, 2013 - IMFnews
Analysts: Rep. Watt’s Nomination to Head FHFA Four Votes Short of Confirmation
Despite the vocal support of progressives, especially advocates of principal reduction of GSE-held loans, Rep. Watt’s nomination to head FHFA is far from a sure thing.
May 31, 2013 - IMFnews
According to industry sources, the FHA recently sent out administrative letters to a handful of residential lenders. Meanwhile, yet another new subprime originator has emerged.
May 31, 2013 - IMFnews
FHFA IG Warns that ‘Shadow Inventory’ is Much Larger Than GSE/HUD REOs
Even a fraction of the shadow inventory falling into foreclosure could considerably swell HUD and GSE ownership of REO properties.
May 31, 2013 - Inside MBS & ABS
A Senate bill filed last week by a Georgia Republican would wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and create a transitional mortgage program that would be sold to the private sector within a decade of the proposed legislation’s enactment. The Mortgage Finance Act of 2013, S. 1048, by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-GA, reprises his proposed legislation of the same name from 2011. The bill would replace the two government-sponsored enterprises with a single Mortgage Finance Agency. The MFA created under S. 1048 would be...
May 31, 2013 - Inside MBS & ABS
Are Fannie and Freddie Sitting on Large Unrealized Gains in Their Agency and Non-Agency Portfolios?
Home prices are improving at a rapid pace throughout the nation, sparking bidding wars in certain markets, according to several different indices. But this rise in “home equity” is also spurring talk that the two largest players in residential finance – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – could be sitting on large unrealized gains in both their MBS and whole loan portfolios. One veteran MBS investor told Inside MBS & ABS that home values have improved so much over the past 120 days that the government-sponsored enterprises may be looking at “monster” increases in the value of their holdings. “Keep in mind that these two are sitting on loans where a year ago the loan-to-value ratio was 115 percent,” said this investor. “But most of this stuff isn’t underwater anymore. If [the GSEs] re-calculate their reserves, they will see some huge gains.” In its 10-Q filing for the first quarter, Fannie reported...
May 31, 2013 - IMFnews
Execution for Non-Agency Jumbo MBS Nearly Even With Agency Pricing
Non-agency MBS execution is competitive with agency MBS execution for purchase mortgages with loan-to-value ratios below 70 percent and credit scores above 740.
May 30, 2013 - IMFnews
John Robbins is out at Bexil American Mortgage. Meanwhile, EverBank readies its second jumbo MBS deal of the year.
May 30, 2013 - IMFnews
Mortgage Brokers Could Get Hammered by CFPB ATR Amendments
Mark Savitt, president of the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals, told Inside Mortgage Finance that including “lender paid” compensation to brokers in the 3 percent cap is “double counting.
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Poll
What should be done to “reform” Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s position in the mortgage market?
- Wind the two GSEs down as quickly as possible while setting up some new government guarantee program for conservatively underwritten conventional mortgages.
25%
- Let the two GSEs continue to funnel money to the Treasury while developing a plan to take them out of conservatorship as private companies.
52%
- Do nothing since the housing market is too dependent on the two GSEs and Congress is unlikely to agree on a major change in the status quo anytime soon.
23%
Most Popular Stories
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- Ranieri Disappointed in Strength of the Non-Agency Market
