The Federal Finance Housing Agency needs to be vigilant in its continued oversight in its management of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according a report from the Office of the Inspector General. Because the FHFA’s actions aren’t subject to judicial review, the OIG said its oversight of the FHFA conservatorship actions and processes “is critical to safeguard taxpayer dollars and ensure that the FHFA is fulfilling its statutory duties.” In the new white paper, the OIG said Congress vested the FHFA with “sweeping powers” as conservator to potentially control every decision the enterprises make.In 2014 alone, the FHFA flexed its muscle to take more than 750 conservatorship “actions” against Fannie and Freddie.

Freddie Mac is offering another bulk sale of delinquent loans but is not releasing the details just yet. Thomas Fitzgerald, company spokesman, confirmed on Monday that there are nonperforming loans for sale, making this Freddie’s second offering this year so far. “We are sharing details about the sale solely with prospective bidders,” he said, adding that Freddie anticipates on providing more specifics on the results after the auction. Fitzgerald did confirm that the loans in the transaction are “deeply delinquent,” at least two years old, and said “the sales process is a round-one competitive auction.” Bloomberg reported that the three pools amount to $1 billion in nonperforming loans...

Home-equity lending gained modest momentum during the fourth quarter of 2014, although the outstanding supply of second-lien mortgage debt continued its seven-year decline. Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $21 billion of home-equity loans, including home-equity lines of credit and closed-end second mortgages, during the fourth quarter. That was up 5.0 percent from the third quarter and brought full-year production ... [Includes one data chart]

CFPB General Counsel Meredith Fuchs showed little sympathy for lenders worried about TRID's start date, referencing the rule's long implementation period.

The headline might sound promising, but keep in mind that during the housing boom of 2003 to 2007, the industry averaged nearly $340 billion a year in home-equity originations.

For capital, the proposed baseline standard for all nonbanks would require a base net worth of $2.5 million...

Impac said it will originate more than $2.0 billion of all mortgages in 1Q15, almost double what it produced the previous quarter.

The bill would exclude from the calculation insurance and taxes held in escrow and fees paid to affiliated companies...

Real estate agents prefer to work with lenders that have a local presence, but call-center operations have improved their reputations among agents, according to new research by Campbell Surveys, based on a national survey sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance Publications. “Survey results show that Quicken Loans’ call-center model can be an accepted alternative to the local branch/local loan officer model, at least for some homebuyers and real estate agents ...