With several cases underway involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Investors Unite hosted a status update teleconference in which one legal scholar referred to the Fairholmes case as an “open scandal” because of the government’s refusal to make the documents surrounding the case public.The three cases discussed included Fairholmes Fund v. The United States, Perry Capital Inc. v. Lew, and an individual shareholders suit in Iowa. Both RichardEpstein, NYU law professor and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago, and Matthew McGill, partner with Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, who is representing Perry Capital in its lawsuit and subsequent appeal, questioned the government’s secrecy in these cases. “The Obama administration has pledged to be the most open, and they have completely failed in this regard,” said Epstein.

First-time homebuyer mortgages acquired by the GSEs performed worse than repeat homebuyer mortgages, said the Federal Housing Finance Agency in a new working paper. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they are riskier. Although the study found first-time homebuyers likely to face more mortgage-related challenges, the FHFA said the difference is based on demographics. “They are younger, and have lower credit scores, lower home equity, and less income and therefore are less likely to withstand financial stress or take advantage of financial innovations available in the market than repeat homebuyers,” said Saty Patrabansh, senior economist and author of the white paper. However, once these differences are taken into account he said there appears to be no difference between first-timer and repeat homebuyers in their probability of default.

Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Common Securitization Solutions created an advisory group for the single security/common securitization platform and held its first meeting this week.No further information was available at press time about what happened at the meeting. A spokesperson for Fannie said additional information on the advisory group will be posted on its single security website in the next week or so. Although implementation may be years away, the group is charged with working together to help move the process forward by offering feedback and sharing information on the execution and building of the SS and CSP platform. “The group initially plans to meet every six months but additional meetings may be requested as...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released a delivery timeline and said they will employ separate collection solutions lenders can use to start delivering the Uniform Closing Dataset, which supports the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s requirement to use the Closing Disclosure for most consumer mortgages.Lenders can begin delivering and testing the Uniform Closing Dataset in the fourth quarter of 2016. The GSEs expect the UCD will make it easier to electronically communicate information on the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure form which will help keep lenders in compliance with the TRID three-day rule.The GSEs will make UCD usage mandatory by the fourth quarter of 2017 for all...

The insurance industry is reaping the benefit of the growing use of the Federal Home Loan Bank System as a funding source, according to a recent report from Moody’s Investors Service.Total membership in the FHLBs nearly doubled between 2005 and 2014 and advances rose around fivefold, said Moody’s. Growth will remain driven primarily by the life insurers. But with the FHLBs continuing to expand their lending to the sector, the ratings service said the underpenetrated property and casualty sector is likely to experience a large increase. Moody’s views insurers’ access to the Federal Home Loan Banks as a credit positive for insurers and said it provides an alternative source of funding for operational or liquidity emergencies.

Fannie Launches Mobile App. Fannie Mae launched a new educational tool this week called HOME by Fannie Mae. The GSE said the mobile app helps educate future homeowners about the steps and responsibilities of buying and owning a home. With the app, potential homebuyers can figure out what they can afford, understand their monthly mortgage payments, how to save for a downpayment, and learn how much they can save in interest by making extra mortgage…

New issuance of non-mortgage ABS increased in most major product categories during the second quarter of 2015, although a slowdown in floorplan deals dampened the party slightly. The ABS market generated $54.15 billion in new issuance during the second quarter, a gain of 5.8 percent from the first three months of 2015. It was the strongest new issuance figure since the financial market meltdown, with the previous high ($54.22 billion) coming in the third quarter of 2007. ABS issuance has climbed...[Includes two data tables]

JPMorgan Chase has released an expansive look into third-party due diligence findings on a pending jumbo MBS under new disclosure requirements from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The increased loan-level disclosures could boost investor confidence in new non-agency MBS. Documents filed through the SEC’s electronic system and posted on the agency’s website include detailed, loan-level reports from three due diligence firms that examined mortgages set to be included in JPMorgan Mortgage Trust 2015-4. American Mortgage Consultants, a due diligence provider, said...

The average daily trading volume in agency MBS fell to $183.7 billion in June, the lowest reading of the year and another sign that all is not well for anyone who makes their living off of actual trading as opposed to being involved in new issuance. “There are a lot of people out there buying on credit and keeping MBS,” said Christopher Whalen, a senior managing director in the Financial Institutions Ratings Group at Kroll Bond Rating Agency. Whalen added...

Activity in the non-agency MBS market involving nonperforming loans and re-performing loans is expected to continue to flourish through at least the end of this year, according to industry analysts. Vintage mortgages in scratch-and-dent deals accounted for 42.0 percent of the non-agency MBS issued in the first half of 2015, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance MBS Database. The $15.60 billion in scratch-and-dent volume included a mix of nonperforming loans and re-performing loans. Issuance of non-agency MBS backed by NPLs and RPLs through two quarters this year equaled...