Economists and real estate executives warn that getting rid of the GSEs’ affordable housing goals, as suggested in some housing-finance reform proposals, will most likely lead to fewer options for underserved borrowers. Currently, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have affordable housing goals that work in tandem to their duty-to-serve underserved markets mandates. But a draft reform proposal by Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN, would replace the affordable housing goals with a new fee-based incentive system.“A potential reduction in federal backing for home loans issued to underserved borrowers as a result of ongoing GSE reform efforts is likely to decrease lending in these communities,” said...

CRT Market Better Able to Warn of Downturn. The credit-risk transfer market created in recent years by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is better poised to warn of systemic risk than the MBS market was prior to the financial crisis, according to new research by Susan Wachter of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. The Wharton professor noted that the future structure of the housing-finance market, in particular the number of issuers of government-backed MBS, may change how the CRT market functions.A multiple-guarantor model, with each offering its own CRT deals, may be less liquid than the current market with just two issuers, Wachter suggested. Fannie Hires New Communications VP. Fannie Mae has hired Duncan Burns as vice president of...

Participants in the MBS and ABS markets gathered in Las Vegas this week, trading stories about how well the market is operating while vendors handed out some surprisingly expensive gifts.

Real estate investment trusts that specialize in residential mortgage credit continued to add to their MBS holdings during the fourth quarter of 2017, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking.

Rising interest rates can be a two-edged sword for MBS-investing real estate investment trusts: prepayment speeds will inevitably fall (the good), while new securities to buy could be in short supply thanks to lower originations in the primary market (the bad).

Ginnie Mae is exploring the possibility of loan-level credit risk sharing with the private sector on FHA-insured loans securitized through the agency, according to a top Ginnie Mae official.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt has less than 11 months left in his term, but already the speculation has begun regarding who the Trump administration might pick to succeed him.

Risk-sharing transactions from the government-sponsored enterprises are experiencing strong demand at issuance as well as in secondary trading. Officials at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac note that they’re working on further improvements for the Connecticut Avenue Securities and Structured Agency Credit Risk programs.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has broadened the scope of an exemption for registering as an investment company to include sponsors of multiple securities that hold whole mortgages.

Alternatives to traditional appraisals are attracting increasing interest among U.S. mortgage market participants, which would potentially weaken the credit quality of new residential MBS, according to rating service analysts.