The cost of borrowing for many homebuyers could rise as a consequence of the Senate’s newest housing finance reform legislation if it’s enacted as is, according to an analysis by Barclays. The bill, filed last week by Sens. Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Mike Crapo, R-ID, would replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a new mortgage-backed securities program for conventional mortgages that requires private investors to take the first 10 percent of losses. The Barclays analysis found...

Then again, some lenders are taking a middle path, selling the MSR asset but continuing to work the loans as a subservicer.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and four other federal financial regulators issued a proposed rule this week that would implement minimum requirements for state registration and supervision of appraisal management companies. Mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, the requirements would apply to states that voluntarily choose to establish an appraiser certifying and licensing agency with the authority to register and supervise AMCs. While there would be no penalty imposed on states that do not establish a regulatory structure for AMCs, these businesses would be barred from providing appraisals in such states. The provisions in the proposed rule are...

Expect a long and winding legal road to resolution of investor lawsuits challenging the Treasury Department’s “net worth sweep” of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earnings, warn legal experts. More than a dozen lawsuits filed against the government – including hedge funds Perry Capital and Fairholme Capital Management – are pending in federal district court in Washington, DC, and in the Court of Federal Claims. The shareholder plaintiffs allege that the Treasury’s change in the dividend structure of its preferred stock leaves the government-sponsored enterprises with no funds to pay dividends to junior shareholders. The complaints raise...

Lenders are discovering hidden gold in their mortgage servicing rights these days. But even with the run-up in values, many lenders are choosing to keep their servicing, some because it maintains relationships with customers who have additional valuable banking needs, and others to avoid the regulatory headaches associated with servicing transfers. Some lenders are taking a middle path, selling the asset but continuing to work the loans as subservicer. During a webinar sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance this week, Mark Garland, president of MountainView Servicing in Denver, noted that there are far more sellers today than even one year ago. In the first three months of 2014, 36 deals went to auction with $98 billion in unpaid principal balance. That compares with the 13 deals ($146 billion) auctioned during the same period last year, although $100 billion of that was in one deal. “Despite strong demand and pricing levels, sellers are vetting...

Speculation continues to grow concerning which nonbanks have looked at buying PHH Mortgage. Our sources caution that “looking” doesn’t mean a deal is close. PHH is based in Cherry Hill, NJ, not too far from Philadelphia. One advisor suggested we look at who has been flying in from points south.

The extended time on market for short sales does not appear to be due to a lack of demand, as short sales completed in February averaged 3.1 offers, based on a three-month moving average.

In a recent interview with IMFnews, Carrington Executive Vice President Ray Brousseau stressed that the privately held nonbank will carefully and manually underwrite the loans, which will be sourced through loan brokers.

Addressing CFPB officials at the American Bankers Association’s government relations conference in Washington, one community banker from Oklahoma reported survey findings that one-third of respondents in the state are no longer offering residential mortgages.

Nonbanks had an average of 400 loans per full-time employee in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to Fitch, up from about 300 loans per full time employee in the second half of 2012.