With just over 4.5 million mortgage borrowers potentially affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma, a secondary market is beginning to develop for mortgages that were originated and closed prior to the storm – but had not yet been placed into a security. According to bidders in the market, the early action focuses on loans that are “stuck” on warehouse lines. But the mortgages cannot be securitized until the property (if damaged) can be brought up to code and re-inspected ...

Work on housing-finance reform looks likely to ramp up in the coming weeks and months, including a document from the Trump administration and legislation in the Senate. But many policy analysts believe that passage of comprehensive legislation is still years away, giving great power to the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The Treasury Department will likely release principles on housing-finance reform within weeks, according to David Stevens ...

New issuance of credit-risk transfer debt notes by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac slowed during the third quarter of 2017, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. However, Freddie recently issued a small CRT variation that’s designed to expand participation in the market by real estate investment trusts and foreign investors. During the third quarter, the two government-sponsored enterprises issued $3.62 billion of traditional CRT notes through ... [Includes one data chart]

Brian Montgomery, President Trump’s nominee for FHA commissioner, expressed concern that federal housing regulators may have been adversarial in their treatment of mortgage lenders in their effort to stem losses and protect the FHA insurance fund. Testifying during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs this week, Montgomery said regulators must do better providing clarity to lenders. “It’s time we treat [lenders] more like ...

Community bankers want to make sure they have access to the secondary mortgage market – including the ability to retain servicing rights – when the dust settles from housing-finance reform. The Independent Community Bankers of America and National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions were among those that testified at a House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing this week. Representing ICBA, Sam Vallandingham, president and CEO of ...

Despite opposition from industry members worried about legal implications, the Federal Housing Finance Agency decided to add a language-preference question to a redesigned loan application that will be required for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in February 2020. On Oct. 20, the FHFA announced that the question will be added to the loan application to enable borrowers who prefer to communicate in a language other than English to identify that language. The Fannie/Freddie regulator also ...

The bulk market for mortgage servicing packages is revving up once again as October draws to a close and deal makers try to wrap up transactions before yearend, allowing clients to book income. “I would say that right now the market is pretty good,” said one investment banker. “Pricing is firm, but not as good as it was earlier in the year. Still, it’s the best it’s been in a few months.” Part of the reason for that strength is rising interest rates. As the week draws to a close, the yield on ...

Nearly a dozen industry trade groups sent a letter Tuesday to every member of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging them to support legislative changes to loosen up the points-and-fees cap associated with the qualified-mortgage standard. The legislative vehicle of choice is the bipartisan H.R. 1153, the Mortgage Choice Act (not to be confused with the far more comprehensive, and controversial, Financial CHOICE Act). The measure was introduced in February by ...

For the most part, 2017 has been void of any headline-grabbing merger-and-acquisition deals affecting the mortgage market, but all that is about to change. Investment banking and mortgage officials believe two enticing possibilities are now considered in play: Ocwen Financial, the nation’s 12th largest servicer of home mortgages, and Social Finance, the formerly ballyhooed “fintech” lender that has taken a stab at the jumbo origination space. Ocwen, which has been losing ...

Officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Fannie Mae made lender-friendly announcements this week at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention, while Melvin Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, focused on some issues that he acknowledged might not be popular with lenders. HUD Secretary Ben Carson said the department is working to make lenders more comfortable originating FHA mortgages. “We have heard ...