The Federal Home Loan Banks should be transformed into a “wholly private structure” in order to defuse the potential systemic risk of incompatible public and private goals, the same conflict that helped usher the downfall of fellow GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, argue...

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have put their foot down regarding certain agreements between servicers and mortgage insurers, reminding them in no uncertain terms that any deals that might compromise the mortgage insurance of GSE loans are prohibited. Fannie published...

Riskier single-family mortgages securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in recent years remained a drag on earnings in the fourth quarter of 2010, forcing the two GSEs to go deeper in debt to the federal government. Fannie and Freddie lost...

The Mortgage Bankers Association has asked the FHA to allow the use of electronic signatures on all FHA loan origination forms to help reduce fraud and other procedural issues in the home buying process. E-signatures are already acceptable under federal law and by the FHA under certain circumstances, the MBA noted in a letter to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The use of e-signatures helps reduce the time required to close a mortgage loan, which may lead to...

The watchdog agency charged with overseeing the regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks said it has numerous audits and evaluations of the Federal Housing Finance Agency in the pipeline.According to two separate but related reports by the Office of the Inspector General of the FHFA issued late last month, the FHFA-OIG is in the midst of a total of 17 ongoing or planned reviews of the Finance Agency.

A series of housing finance reform proposals by a faction of House Democrats that calls for winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, preserving access to affordable mortgage loans and accurately pricing risk. among other things has received...

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston said it’s going to court to rescind the purchase of more than 100 mortgage securities for which the bank originally paid nearly $6 billion. FHLB Boston filed a complaint last week in the Department of Business Litigation Session of Suffolk County Superior Court based on the bank’s investments in certain private-label mortgage-backed securities issued by 115 securitization trusts for which the bank paid approximately $5.8 billion. “The Bank is…

The quality of mortgages has been exceptional in the handful of non-agency mortgage securities issued over the past few years, but industry analysts question the sustainability of such high standards on a long-term basis as the mortgage market responds to change. “Recently originated prime jumbo loans reviewed by Fitch appear to be...

Servicers must achieve “quality right-party contact” (QRPC) with borrowers as a means of determining a delinquent homeowner’s willingness and ability to pay his mortgage under new standards Fannie Mae has laid out regarding the management of loans in danger of default.Fannie’s issuance of servicing standards this week is in compliance with the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Servicing Alignment Initiative announced in late April to establish consistent mortgage loan servicing and management requirements for servicers acting on behalf of Fannie and Freddie Mac.

The two leading accounting standards-setting bodies have different approaches when it comes to how best to analyze the effectiveness of a mortgage lending or other financial hedging strategy. And as they seek to improve, simplify and harmonize their approaches, the mortgage industry has come out in support of...