Nomura Holdings and the Royal Bank of Scotland fought a long battle but eventually lost in a court appeal last week when the judge decided not to undo an earlier order forcing them to pay the government $839 million. The settlement was based on the banks not being truthful about non-agency MBS sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prior to the housing meltdown. The firms’ lawyers chose to appeal the 2015 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote. She found the companies ...

Vacancy rates are up in the single-family rental space, mostly due to seasonal factors, according to a new report from Morningstar Credit Ratings. Meanwhile, the toll from Hurricane Irma is still being calculated. “The average vacancy rate among single-family rental securitizations climbed to 5.7 percent in August, as property managers dealt with increased lease expirations, typical of the summer months,” analysts from Morningstar said. This was the fifth consecutive monthly increase. They cited two ...

MetLife said a number of new investors have started buying RPLs in recent years. And even with the strong demand, it’s still a market that offers relatively attractive returns…

The GSEs and Ginnie Mae remain the dominant forces in the MBS/ABS market. Their combined single-family issuance hit $346.98 billion in 3Q17…

The RNC document says the GOP “recognizes the sanctity of property rights in America,” which should warm the hearts of GSE common and junior preferred shareholders…

The capital and liquidity requirements targeted by Treasury were largely established by the Basel III accords and the Dodd-Frank Act…

In a new report, Cowen gives the early lead on the FHFA job to Mark Calabria, chief economist to Vice President Mike Pence...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw a huge jump in deliveries of purchase-money mortgages during the third quarter, although the first-timer share of the market fell slightly. The two government-sponsored enterprises securitized $140.75 billion of purchase mortgages during the third quarter, an increase of 26.4 percent from the previous three-month period. Purchase loans accounted for 62.9 percent of loans sold into GSE mortgage-backed securities during ... [Includes two data charts]

Plenty of potential homebuyers have prequalified with HomeStreet Bank for mortgages this year but the bank has significantly cut its mortgage staff because originations have been below expectations. The bank focuses on markets on the West Coast and officials said purchase-mortgage originations have been constrained by a low supply of homes for sale. “The strong West Coast economies and local markets in which we operate are continuing to produce above-average job and population growth ...

There’s room for improvement in loan origination system offerings, according to a survey of 250 lenders by Strategic Mortgage Finance Group. The consulting group recently released details from its 2016 survey on lenders’ LOS. Lead generation/management was by far the lowest rated functionality within various systems. Only 4.0 percent of survey participants said the lead generation/management offered by their LOS was highly effective. “With the market shift to more purchase business, the lack ...