The head of the House Financial Services GSE Subcommittee called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency to look into whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have resumed lobbying and other political activities, which were barred when the GSEs were put in conservatorship in 2008. Political activity by Fannie and Freddie has long been a bone of contention for many GOP members of Congress, who believe that lobbying, campaign contributions and advertising ...

Mortgage brokers accounted for 10.9 percent of single-family mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the first nine months of 2014, but they achieved far deeper market shares in California and a handful of other states. Brokers originated 21.3 percent of Golden State mortgages during the first nine months of the year, their biggest footprint in any state, according to an exclusive Inside The GSEs analysis of loan-level data ... [Includes one data chart]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are continuing their efforts in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s eClosing initiative as well as the broader industrywide push for eventual eMortgage adoption, despite the challenges that have confronted the latter over the past decade. Ann Epstein, product development director at Freddie, told Inside The GSEs she does not think the limited adoption of eMortgages to date is a technology issue. “The technology ...

The high cost of servicing delinquent mortgages for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is one of the factors that prompt lenders to implement underwriting overlays, according to Laurie Goodman, director of the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center. However, recent changes to the GSEs’ standards for servicing delinquent mortgages along with a potential adjustment to repurchase requirements are promising, she said. “In order to broaden access to credit, servicing issues ...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is fighting state-level court actions that threaten the first-lien status of loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including a recent ruling in Nevada granting a homeowners association priority in collecting unpaid HOA fees ahead of the mortgage lender in a foreclosure. The regulator has filed separate actions in federal court in Nevada seeking to overturn recent state court rulings allowing HOAs to jump to the front of the creditor list with ...

Bulletin 2014-23. Dec. 8. Freddie Mac announced servicing updates, including the requirement that servicers file and settle any property insurance claims with the applicable property insurer before submitting a recommendation to Freddie to charge off a mortgage. In addition, the bulletin requires servicers to send Freddie a copy of the fully executed modification agreement of home mortgages and second mortgages when the modification ... [Includes seven briefs]

Of that amount, $9.9 trillion is mortgaged, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, which means consumers have untapped equity of $17.6 trillion.

PennyMac Commercial will focus on mortgages of under $10 million.

However, originations aren’t expected to spike in 2015 due to a number of factors, including tight underwriting standards.

The market heated up significantly in 2013 with $152.22 billion of Ginnie MSRs being transferred.