Issuers of non-agency MBS should be able to price loans that don’t meet the standards for qualified mortgages at nearly the same levels as QMs, according to Andrew Davidson & Co., a firm that provides risk analytics on non-agency MBS. Non-QMs actually perform better than similar QMs in certain scenarios, as long as underwriting on the products is strong. Beginning in late 2015, non-QMs included in new non-agency MBS will trigger risk-retention requirements. Only mortgages that meet QM standards will be deemed to be qualified residential mortgages and exempt from risk retention. Interest-only mortgages appear...
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee brought the latest installment in its quantitative easing programs to a conclusion this week, but the central bank will continue to reinvest principal payments back into agency MBS. The FOMC also reaffirmed the current 0 to 0.25 percent target range for the federal funds rate. “The committee anticipates … that it likely will be appropriate to maintain the 0 to 0.25 percent target range for the federal funds rate for a considerable time following the end of its asset purchase program this month, especially if projected inflation continues to run below the committee’s 2 percent longer-run goal, and provided that longer-term inflation expectations remain well anchored.” And as usual, the Fed left...
The current supervisory expectation of a near-zero error rate is virtually impossible to achieve, lenders have told the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
An administrative solution is already possible within the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which grants the FHFA authority to bring the GSEs out of conservatorship.
Production of rural housing loans with a Department of Agriculture guaranty is expected to end 2014 far below the record volume originated last year, according to agency estimates. USDA Section 502 guaranteed homeownership obligations in fiscal 2014 totaled $19.1 billion, down from last year’s $22.4 billion, according to data recently disclosed by the agency. Texas led...[Includes one data chart]
Ocwen Financial has a huge mismatch between the size of its $400 billion servicing portfolio and its new originations. Then again, its MSRs are running off...
The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Obama administration could secure their legacies during the next two years by releasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship as two stable and smaller government-sponsored enterprises, say some experts. Speaking during a conference call sponsored by GSE shareholder rights group Investors Unite, Clifford Rossi – founder and principal at Chesapeake Risk Advisors – reiterated his call for an administrative solution that would recapitalize the GSEs and bring them out of conservatorship under strict conditions. “Knowing that it’s going to be an uphill battle to get any sort of resolution from Congress, it could be...
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