The outstanding supply of single-family MBS declined 0.7 percent during the first quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS market analysis. But that didn’t stop commercial banks from continuing to increase their holdings.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have made progress in improving their corporate governance structure and managing credit risk, but they still face significant headwinds, according to the FHFA’s annual report to Congress.

Analysts at Compass Point Research & Trading said in a client note Monday that the second quarter should be a relatively strong one for mortgage originators/servicers.

Fannie Mae is looking to reduce its footprint in the Dallas region as the number of mortgage delinquencies continues to decline. The GSE’s southwestern regional office at the International Plaza II includes more than 400,000 square feet of office space spread out among three buildings.

SCOTUS Watch: We’re still waiting for the Supreme Court to issue its disparate-impact ruling in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. The central issue here is whether disparate-impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act. A decision could come any day, so stay tuned… …

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both reported sharp declines in mortgage repurchases during the first quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis of public disclosures by the two. There was, however, a sharp increase in the volume of unresolved buyback demands. The GSEs reported a combined $491.3 million in mortgage repurchases during the first three months of 2015, a 30.8 percent decline from the fourth quarter of last year. It was also the lowest quarterly buyback figure since Fannie and Freddie began filing repurchase activity reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission back in early 2012. Fannie’s repurchase volume fell 45.8 percent from the previous quarter while Freddie’s was...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have made progress in improving their corporate governance structure and managing credit risk, but they still face significant headwinds, according to the FHFA’s annual report to Congress. The report noted that the prospect of negative net worth in future quarters for Fannie might be more likely than in recent periods thanks to a reduction in income from Fannie’s shrinking investment portfolio. Also income from loss reserves and legal settlements is diminishing. While the report noted that Fannie has significant initiatives underway to improve its governance, risk management and systems infrastructure, it said the magnitude of the projects would expose the enterprise’s operations to heightened risk.

The most recent rep-and-warrant policy updates and clarifications by the GSEs are a positive step in the right direction, according to David Stevens, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association, but he said the goal now is to focus on remedies. “It helped provide some definite greater clarity around what constitutes the kind of defects that get covered in that first 36 months,” he said in an interview with Inside The GSEs. “It was the first step of a few more steps that need to take place, however.” While the GSEs have worked to ensure that their customers know what the potential defects are in a file and how best to address them, Stevens said the next evolution is working on things like remedies.

The Federal Home Loan Banks increased their advances to members for the third consecutive year and substantially grew them by $72.1 billion in 2014 to $570.7 billion. In fact, at the end of the year, advances reached their highest quarter-end level since the first quarter of 2010 and the increase was the largest since 2007, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s annual report to Congress released this week. Ten of the 12 FHLBanks reported increased advances last year. The report noted in recent years, some members may have increased their use of advances to meet higher liquidity requirements. Despite this growth, the demand is below levels witnessed during the height of the financial crisis.

A letter sent to the Federal Housing Finance Agency last week from a bipartisan group of senators asking for more transparency and clarity on GSE risk transfers included the request of a five-year goal timeline.Although FHFA officials have talked about risk transfers by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, most of the description of the program is sparsely outlined in the agency’s strategic plan and the 2015 scorecard.The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee members said that the FHFA needs to be more forthright about its plans to expand the credit-risk transfer activities of the GSEs. However, one analyst believes while more clarity would be helpful, outlining risk sharing in a five-year context would be challenging.