If anything, the second quarter might be remembered as a period in which banks hiked their MSR values significantly.

Even though Ginnie Mae has already approved more new MBS issuers this year than last – with two months still left in the government’s fiscal year – it has another problem on its hands: few of these firms are actually using the program. “There have been fairly significant holes in participation,” said Gregory Keith, senior vice president and chief risk officer for the agency. In an interview with Inside MBS & ABS, Keith said Ginnie is...

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority will begin disseminating information for so-called specified-pool MBS issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, as well as securities backed by loans with Small Business Administration guarantees. The move is aimed at increasing transparency in specified pools, which represent an estimated 3,500 trades, totaling $18 billion in par value, on an average daily basis. It follows a similar effort by FINRA last year in the to-be-announced market for agency MBS. Transaction data will be circulated...

UBS, one of the first of the 18 big banks named in lawsuits brought by the Federal Housing Finance Agency two years ago in connection with non-agency MBS purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced this week that it is seeking to settle with the FHFA following an adverse federal appeals court ruling against the Swiss and other defendants. In announcing its preliminary second quarter 2013 results, UBS said it has reached “an agreement in principle” with the FHFA to settle claims against its subsidiary UBS Americas related to residential MBS offerings between 2004 and 2007. UBS did not specify...

Freddie Mac this week issued the first in a series of planned transactions from the government-sponsored enterprises to share risk with the non-agency market. Industry analysts suggest that while the transaction represents a good value for investors, the audience for the transactions structured like a synthetic collateralized debt obligation is limited. The Structured Agency Credit Risk Debt Notes 2013-DN1 included a total of $500 million in two non-guaranteed tranches sold to investors with 10-year terms, according to non-agency market participants. The STACR reference pool consists...

When it comes to guaranty fees, FHFA has taken "meaningful steps" to level the playing field for community lenders, one agency official testified this week.

The Federal Reserve expects to take further action on mortgage risk retention rules in September.

In particular, mortgage industry professionals are focused on third-party-paid charges and seller-paid points in the QM rule.

Flagstar Bank is reportedly working on a deal to sell a large chunk of its mortgage servicing rights while retaining a subservicing contract to continue administering the loans. The bank declined to talk about its plans, but during an earnings call this week officials gave more clues that it’s contemplating such a maneuver. They told analysts that Flagstar has taken a close look at how it services mortgages, discovering that it’s quite good at servicing performing loans, but not so good with high-touch product. Sondro DiNello, president and chief executive of the bank, also declared...

Although Wells Fargo promised some JVs that everything was "fine" earlier in the year, the megabank is now exiting the joint venture space.