Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may take action to recover deficiencies from a defaulting mortgage borrower if permitted by federal or state law.

With mortgage refinance activity flagging in the wake of a spike in interest rates that began months ago, the Federal Housing Finance Agency this week launched a campaign to get more mileage out of the Home Affordable Refinance Program. (Includes one data chart.)

The FHFA’s HARP outreach effort includes public service announcements by Mike Aubrey, a real estate agent based in North Potomac, MD. He stars in a reality TV show, “Power Broker,” that premiered on HGTV in July

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are continuing to work on revised eligibility standards for mortgage insurance companies that likely will reduce the 25-to-1 maximum risk-to-capital ratio enjoyed by guarantors that cover their loans. Some type of guidance is expected, at least from one of the GSEs, by the end of October.

The common securitization platform project being overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency has picked the Maryland suburb of Bethesda as its home, according to industry officials briefed on the situation.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week issued a final rule requiring annual stress tests for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, as mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Fannie Mae’s inadequate internal controls on outsourced servicer reimbursements – and late-to-the-party oversight by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – cost the GSE $89 million in overpayments last year, according to a recent report by the FHFA Office of Inspector General.

Will the White House ask Freddie to fork over its deferred tax assets? Holders of "junior preferred" and common class GSE stock hope to increase the value of their holdings. Fannie Mae kills its inactivity fee. And Fannie hires a manager for its part of the Common Securitization Platform.

If the U.S. defaults on its debt payments, will mortgage rates go sky high? Meanwhile, will JPM rescure FHA?

Despite recovering house values in most markets, insufficient collateral remained the biggest obstacle for consumers trying to get mortgage financing in 2012, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. In virtually every category of the market, loan applicants were more successful in getting approved for a mortgage last year than they were back in 2011, the HMDA data show. Some 15.5 percent of loan applicants were turned down last year ... [Includes one data chart]