Prior to release of 4Q17 results, the GSEs had an “account balance” of $103.0 billion with Uncle Sam: $291.4 billion of dividends paid to Treasury versus $188.4 billion of assistance received.
WMIH Corp., a shell company whose chief asset is tax losses, this week agreed to purchase Nationstar Mortgage for roughly $1.68 billion in cash and stock.
Mortgage delinquencies overall increased at the end of the year, with the poor performance largely attributed to areas hit by hurricanes in August and September. Mortgage performance in most of the rest of the country actually improved at the end of 2017.
With the legislative calendar growing shorter and Democrats avoiding saying anything positive about the GOP draft legislation on housing-finance reform, many in the industry are worrying more about what might happen to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac when Mel Watt leaves his post as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The House of Representatives this week approved bills extending regulatory relief pertaining to the integrated disclosure rule under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, or TRID.
The board authorized by Congress to establish appraisal standards will reduce the minimum criteria for a person to become a licensed residential appraiser. The decision stemmed from concerns about appraiser shortages and disagreements among industry participants on how to address the issue.