The mergers-and-acquisitions market is expected to be robust this year thanks to falling loan production, which likely will force weaker players in the mortgage industry to align with stronger partners. But now there’s another reason why M&A activity could be brisk: new servicing rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. According to industry officials and Fitch Ratings, new servicing rules will drive up compliance costs for all servicers, but smaller players – including community banks and nonbanks – could see their profits erode as they increase spending to stay compliant. In a new report, Fitch writes...
Official Washington and mortgage-industry observers expect some near-term flux as new Federal Housing Finance Director Mel Watt adjusts to his job and works to make the conservator and regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises his own. The former North Carolina Congressman was sworn in Monday to a five-year term as the FHFA’s new director. Watt replaces Acting Director Edward DeMarco, who was appointed as interim agency head following the resignation of FHFA Director James Lockhart in August 2009. The 20-year veteran House Democrat had been expected...
MGIC's stock is trading near a 52-week high of $8.82 a share. The company, like the rest of the sector, is anxiously waiting on new capital-to-risk standards from FHFA.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency – via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – is preparing new eligibility standards for mortgage-insurance firms and plans to show a first draft of the rules to state insurance regulators, Inside Mortgage Finance has learned. Private MIs may not get a peek at the rules until sometime in March. Also, insurance regulators may be required to sign a “non-disclosure” agreement with the FHFA or the government-sponsored enterprises regarding the content they see. Among other things, the eligibility standards will establish...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac generated $182.2 billion of new single-family mortgage-backed securities during the final three months of 2013, their lowest quarterly output since the third quarter of 2011, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. Fourth-quarter volume for the two government-sponsored enterprises was down 36.1 percent from the previous quarter, with Fannie posting the bigger decline, 36.8 percent. Freddie volume in the final three months of the year was off 34.7 percent from the third quarter, which helped modestly boost its share of the GSE market to 35.2 percent. For the year, Freddie accounted...[Includes three data charts]
This time around, Congress is considering tapping Fannie/Freddie g-fees as lawmakers look toward an extension of unemployment benefits, which expired on December 31.
“Transactions submitted with consumer-paid compensation more than 50 bps below [the] broker’s lender-paid tier will be rejected permanently and will not be eligible for re-submission,” Fifth Third Bank is warning.
In a letter sent to new agency Director Mel Watt, GOP Congressmen Scott Garrett, Randy Neugebauer and John Campbell note that the 10 basis point increase proposed by Watt’s predecessor is not the only fee adjustment up for grabs.
When it comes to doing business with Fannie Mae, Wells Fargo's volume is almost three-times that of its closest competitor, Chase Home Finance, IMF found.
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