Nancy Handal, managing director of insurance conglomerate MetLife, oversees a $70 billion fixed-income portfolio and a $6 billion “high-yield” residential MBS opportunity fund – but has bought into just one jumbo MBS deal over the past few years. And she’s not shy about the reasons why: it’s all about disclosures. Handal is not happy about what non-agency issuers disclose and in particular she’s dismayed that MBS investors are essentially frozen out of the due-diligence process. Speaking at a housing forum sponsored by the Urban Institute and CoreLogic this week, the MetLife executive expressed...
Retail mortgage-production units accounted for 63.0 percent of new originations during the third quarter of 2013, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. That was up slightly from a 62.8 percent retail share of new production during the second quarter, and it represented one of the highest levels of retail-channel dominance ever. The share of retail originations has soared over the past few years as many major lenders have scaled back their broker and correspondent operations. But all three production channels showed...[Includes four data charts]
Industry stakeholders called upon lawmakers to delay the implementation of hefty increases in flood-insurance premiums as a result of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Act of 2012. However, support among lawmakers for delaying the mandated changes appear to be weak. In a hearing this week in the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, Republicans and Democrats apparently were unswayed by community advocates, academics, the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders regarding the financial pain being inflicted by the Biggert-Waters Act on homeowners. The sudden, dramatic increase in flood insurance premiums – some by as much as 1,000 percent – are leaving...
With refinance volume falling and minimum net-worth requirements heading north, advisors in the mergers-and-acquisitions market say undercapitalized firms should sell now, while they still can. Larry Charbonneau, a principal of Charbonneau & Associates of Texas, said he is currently working on four deals but noted that, “There a lot of shops out there with less than $5 million in capital that need to do something but haven’t realized it yet.” Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have net-worth minimums in the $3 million range, there is...
Republicans on Capitol Hill might be laying the groundwork for legislation that could scale back the application of the disparate impact theory of legal liability in mortgage lending. Currently, there is no active legislation to that effect pending in the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate, and industry lobbyists said there is no such interest underfoot. But just the fact that the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing this week on disparate impact in general had some Democrat supporters of the theory a bit anxious. “My hope is...
Current homeowners have increasingly purchased homes with cash in lieu of a mortgage in recent months, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. Analysts suggest that the trend is driven by frustrations with the mortgage process and seasonal factors. Some 28.6 percent of home purchases completed in October relied solely on cash for financing, based on the three-month moving average. That was the second consecutive monthly increase in the cash-financing share, after it fell to 26.8 percent in August. While investors predominantly use cash to purchase homes, homeowners tend...
Increasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranty fees, as well as “incrementally” reducing the government-sponsored enterprises’ loan limits throughout the next decade, would save the government approximately $20 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In a report published last week, the CBO projected the budgetary savings that would occur under two proposals. “By CBO’s projections under current law, the mortgage guaranties that the GSEs issue from 2015 through 2023 will cost the federal government $22 billion,” noted the report. “That estimate reflects the subsidies inherent in the guaranties at the time they are made.” Under one scenario, the average GSE guaranty fee would increase...
Private-equity firms such as Pershing Square Capital Management and Fairholme Funds are gobbling up the common and preferred shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a trend that may continue as long as the two stay profitable and Congress dithers with how to end their conservatorships. “There’s some value there,” said Brian Harris, a senior analyst with Moody’s Investors Service. “The hedge funds believe the two will continue to earn money.” Industry observers who closely follow the government-sponsored enterprises predict...
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