The two GOP congressmen want the Treasury Department and FHFA to suggest steps they can take in the near term “to rectify the situation.”

Rates are still falling, but MSR packages continue to hit the auction block...

Freddie officials estimate that industry wide, multifamily originations could top $250 billion this year...

A trader who plays in the market confirmed the $10 million figures to IMFnews.

The Blackstone Group this week continued its expanding reach into the mortgage industry, agreeing to buy – through an affiliate – Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Denver, one of the busiest sellers of mortgage servicing rights in the nation. No purchase price was revealed. IMA is being sold through an “asset” transfer. Its trading desk affiliate, Spurs Capital, is not part of the transaction, though the two firms will maintain a working relationship. In the fourth quarter, IMA brokered...

Two Republican lawmakers in the House have raised questions about the diminishing capital held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at a time when the two government-sponsored enterprises are expected to generate huge dividends for the government over the next decade. Reps. Stephen Lee (TN) and Mick Mulvaney (SC) recently asked the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury to consider the impact on the financial system and taxpayers of the GSEs holding no capital. They argue that Fannie and Freddie are already in violation of their statutory capital reserve requirements, and they will not be able to hold any capital after Jan. 1, 2018. “It is...

While the mortgage insurance industry patiently waits to see if the FHA will cut government MI premiums further this year, the sector is facing another potential threat to profitability: pricing concessions from the nation’s second largest retail originator, Quicken Loans. Moreover, Quicken – also the largest nonbank lender in the U.S. – is promising to pass on 100 percent of the cost savings to its customers, at least that’s what a company spokesman told Inside Mortgage Finance this week. “We take...

A recent amendment by Congress to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act was helpful for mortgage servicers but further action is necessary, according to industry participants. Servicers continue to raise concerns about the TCPA due to an order issued by the Federal Communications Commission in June. The order placed restrictions on auto-dialed calls to cell phones, subjecting servicers and others to penalties of $500 per call with no cap on statutory damages. The TCPA allows...

HSBC North America Holdings agreed to a $470.0 million settlement late last week with the Department of Justice, 49 state attorneys general and other regulators. The settlement is similar to the $25 billion settlement five big banks agreed to in 2012 and suggests that regulators aren’t finished focusing on servicing issues that occurred during the financial crisis. “The agreement is part of our ongoing effort to address root causes of the financial crisis,” said Benjamin Mizer, a principal deputy assistant attorney general and head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. The HSBC settlement includes...

While home price gains across the U.S. are fairly sustainable, some metropolitan areas where jumbo loan underwriting standards are considered relatively loose may be on the cusp of a potential bubble, according to Fitch Ratings. The San Francisco market, where home prices climbed to record levels in the third quarter of 2015, now looks like it did during the dot-com boom of the late 90’s, Fitch said. The firm’s recent RMBS Sustainable Home Price Report noted that homes in the Bay Area have climbed 62 percent above their post-recession low in early 2012 and are up 10 percent in the past year. At current levels, the Bay Area market is...