Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt this week unveiled two significant policy changes aimed at opening up the mortgage credit box: additional buyback relief for originators that sell loans to the government-sponsored enterprises and a return to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchases of mortgages with loan-to-value ratios between 95 percent and 97 percent. Speaking at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association in Las Vegas, Watt gave some concrete details about the new “life of loan” representation and warranty relief and outlined a number of other changes in the works. Moreover, industry officials contend...

Interactive Mortgage Advisors has launched RealPartner.com, a crowd funding platform giving accredited investors access to performing residential mortgages...

Any refunds paid by the originator must occur within 210 days after the loan is made.

To account for the risk posed by the small loan pool, Fitch applied a penalty of 1.07-times (a 7.0 percent penalty) to the lifetime default expectations for the MBS...

One servicing analyst told IMFnews that if Ocwen continues to get downgraded on its servicer ratings it could be forced to sell MSRs and/or post additional capital.

The chickens come home to roost: from 2008 through 2013, HUD increased the FHA’s annual mortgage insurance premium five times.

David Steckel of Bank of America said his institution has focused on capturing more of the customers who fit into the company’s credit box rather than making that box bigger.

Ocwen said it has fixed the "back-dating" problem but it may be too late for the company.

One former CEO candidate told IMFnews that back when he was approached about the job, the starting salary for the position was at least $400,000.

We even heard one report that a non-QM firm is contemplating an initial public offering. It sounds crazy, we know…Meanwhile, it appears the states want a say in MSR transfers...