The Federal Housing Finance Agency last week issued regulations that clamp down on “golden parachute” severance payments to departing GSE executives. Published in the Jan. 28 Federal Register, the FHFA’s final rule applies to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Banks and the Office of Finance, as well as any “entity-affiliated parties,” including independent contractors such as attorneys, accountants and appraisers.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, as part of its new “servicing project,” is once again reviewing minimum fees paid to servicers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, according to industry advisors briefed on the matter. Among other things, the servicing project is reviewing how large-scale packages of GSE receivables are sold and transferred. This was not entirely unexpected, given the massive sales of mortgage servicing rights the past 18 months. But mortgage bankers thought changing the minimum servicing fee of 25 basis points was a dead issue.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – during two different periods last year – spent nearly $20 billion buying roughly 85,000 loans despite clear warnings or questions about the appraisals, according to a new audit from the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. As part of its report, the FHFA-OIG has made 14 recommendations to FHFA regarding the matter, calling on the regulator to ensure the GSEs make better use of appraisal information generated by a uniform collateral data portal the agency told the two to develop in 2010.

Despite new public pronouncements by lawmakers and administration officials that housing finance reform remains a “top priority,” industry observers warn there is little chance of legislation clearing Congress, ensuring a status quo that leaves the uber-profitable Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in place and pumping money into the Treasury. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-ID, broke a long public silence by reiterating their intention to push bipartisan housing finance reform in a statement on Wednesday.

What’s the best way to entice a workaholic mortgage loan officer who knows how to bring home the bacon? Answer: Pay them a huge signing bonus.

Although the city of Richmond, CA, is still toying with the idea of using eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages out of non-agency MBS trusts, it has yet to receive final approvals to do so. Moreover, even though speculation is mounting that its “partner” in the controversial tactic, Mortgage Resolution Partners, might be going away, the city’s mayor said she hasn’t given up. In an interview with Inside MBS & ABS this week, Mayor Gayle McLaughlin noted that “Eighteen elected officials I have talked to have shown an interest” in the concept. Those officials include representatives from San Pablo, CA, San Francisco, and smaller cities around Los Angeles. She also has spoken with officials in Irvington and Newark, NJ. Wall Street has lobbied...

Interest shortfalls in the residential MBS space continued to drift higher across different collateral types, tranche types and vintages throughout 2013, according to Morningstar Credit Ratings. “As of the December 2013 remittance cycle, nearly one out of five deals (19.1 percent) in our sample experienced a shortfall in at least one tranche,” Morningstar said in a recent report. Interest shortfalls take place...

New production of single-family agency MBS in January 2014 fell to its lowest monthly volume in five years, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside MBS & ABS. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae generated a total of $67.82 billion in single-family MBS last month, a 10.4 percent drop from December 2013. It was the weakest monthly issuance since January 2009, when $64.39 billion of new agency MBS were produced as world financial markets tried to recover from collapse. Market conditions – if you don’t consider the weather outside – were...[Includes one data chart]

Also, the CFPB is considering requiring more underwriting and pricing information, such as the interest rate, total origination charges, and discount points.

Among other issues, the GAO found that for three of the servicers, their denial rates were significantly higher for Hispanics than for the comparison population of non-Hispanic whites.