The total book value of the Federal Home Loan Banks’ eligible collateral was up 21 percent in 2016, rising to $2.8 trillion from $2.3 trillion, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s recently released report to Congress highlighting the amounts and types of collateral pledged to the FHLBanks.Advances over the same period rose by 11 percent from $634 million to $705 million. Reported borrowing capacity was $2.1 trillion. Single-family and multifamily residential loans accounted for the majority of the book value of collateral, both eligible (61 percent) and pledged (58 percent).

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plan to tackle issues related to mortgage servicing and the borrower experience as part of their 2018 goals. The Federal Housing Finance Agency released the “scorecard” for the GSEs late last month, which outlines specific priorities the duo are expected to focus on throughout the year. The GSEs are charged with assessing the current mortgage servicing business model and developing specific plans to support servicing liquidity. The FHFA charged the GSEs to “assess the challenges and potential solutions for improving the borrower experience, expanding liquidity, and increasing efficiency of the servicing market.”

Back in May, the New York-based Situs bought The Collingwood Group, a Washington, DC-based consulting firm...

Sen. Bob Corker’s last-minute decision to vote for the massive GOP tax bill caused a ruckus in the press and social media, but the Senator’s communications director attributed the noise to opponents of his efforts to pass housing-finance reform. The controversy arose when Corker, R-TN, was accused of voting for the tax overhaul only after he saw a provision that would reap him financial gains. Weeks before the final vote, Corker was the only Republican senator set to vote against an earlier version of the bill. Corker is said to have significant holdings in companies that would benefit from a tax break for real estate-related pass-through corporations and partnerships.

Some observers think that resolving the long-running conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this year is closer than it has ever been, but they also say political differences present a number of challenges. There has been an uptick in momentum the past few months and the recent deal between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury that allows the GSEs to retain $3 billion in capital is an optimistic sign of progress to many. Moreover, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is working on a draft of a GSE reform bill, and the House Financial Services Committee has held a handful of hearings on GSE reform issues in the fourth quarter in preparation for drafting legislation.

Both GSEs are expected to need a draw from the U.S. Treasury, thanks to the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that will reduce the corporate tax rate and result in $15.3 billion in one-time charges for the pair. With the tax rate being reduced from 35 percent to 21 percent, the GSEs now have to measure their net deferred tax assets using the new rate. According to recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Fannie Mae expects to take a one-time charge of $10.0 billion and Freddie Mac is bracing for a $5.3 billion charge.

Fannie Mae last month reclaimed some of the market share Freddie Mac snagged in October and November as GSE single-family business volume skidded toward yearend. Fannie issued $43.99 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities in December, a tidy 4.9 percent increase from the previous month. Freddie’s $30.03 billion in production tumbled 19.2 percent from November. That gave Fannie a 59.4 percent share of the GSE market in December, in line with historical trends. Freddie posted big increases in volume during October and November, pushing its GSE market share to 46.4 percent for the two-month period. Even with the return to more normal...

It appears that many lenders may have what is known in the industry as “redundant reserves”…

What's next for Jeb Hensarling? FHFA or Wall Street?

Mortgage and commercial real estate investment trusts stand to benefit from a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that offers individuals a 20 percent deduction for REIT dividends. Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said the deduction applies to “qualified business income,” which includes qualified dividends paid by REITs. The tax reform bill was signed into law on Dec. 22, 2017. Previously, non-capital gains dividends from a REIT were taxed as ...