Companies that make their living from servicing delinquent and “high touch” mortgages may want to reconsider their business options going forward. According to new figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, late payments on home mortgages continued their downward trend in the fourth quarter with the nation’s top servicers recording a combined delinquency rate of 9.48 percent, a 141 basis point improvement over the same period a year earlier. Compared to the third quarter, late payments fell 74 bps, another sign that the problem loans are...[Includes one data chart]
Mortgage industry representatives strongly support efforts by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to lessen the potential for double counting in loan originator compensation calculations for “qualified mortgages” under the CFPB’s recently issued ability-to-repay final rule. And they’d like the bureau to go even further. When the CFPB issued its ATR rule last month, it also proposed adding two comments and potentially one of two others to the accompanying commentary that would specify calculation methods to lessen the problem of double counting of loan originator compensation in the points and fees calculation for QM loans. The first comment, “exemption for consumer paid mortgage broker/brokerage compensation,” would clarify...
The five servicers participating in the $25 billion national mortgage servicing settlement could complete their borrower relief obligations well before the 2015 deadline, according to a report released late last week by the settlement’s monitor. However, complaints from borrowers regarding servicing are increasing, with greater scrutiny expected from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the possibility of further requirements as part of the settlement. The five servicers participating in the settlement have $20.0 billion in consumer relief requirements and provided $45.8 billion in gross relief to borrowers through the end of 2012 as part of the settlement. However, most of the servicers have not yet met their relief requirements as the loss mitigation must be provided via a number of different tactics credited at varying levels. Short sales accounted...
Recent and impending changes to FHA program requirements have shifted purchase-mortgage activity to other sources, according to industry analysts. While the FHA remains the go-to financing method for borrowers who can only provide a 3.5 percent downpayment, conventional financing with a 5.0 percent downpayment is seen as more favorable for qualified borrowers. Beginning April 1, the annual FHA mortgage insurance premium will increase by 10 basis points for purchase mortgages, following a number of other premium increases in recent years. FHA financing accounted...
With the Federal Reserve’s MBS portfolio quietly passing the $1 trillion mark in mid-February for the first time since late 2010, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke this week continued to toe the party line on the historic level of support the central bank has provided to the MBS and Treasury markets. But there is more skepticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill and some Fed board members, and industry analysts are trying to dope out when the Fed buying spree will wind down. “After quadrupling its balance sheet engaging in unprecedented MBS asset purchases and creating an extended negative real interest rate environment, there is...
MBS guaranty fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would not have to increase by much from current levels to shift risk to the private sector, according to a new analysis by Andrew Davidson & Co. However, if policymakers looking to reduce the market share of the government-sponsored enterprises want to expand credit availability beyond the tight standards in the GSE market, g-fees will have to increase significantly. Fannie Mae reported that the average effective g-fee in its third quarter 2012 business was 41.8 basis points, and the GSEs raised their fees by 10 bps during the fourth quarter of last year. A report this week from the Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission proposed...
With upwards of $15 billion in nonperforming mortgages expected to be sold at auction this year – and with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac entering the market – securitizations of these problem loans could take off during the next few quarters. To date, there has been little information about nonperforming securitizations, though a handful of private deals have been issued over the past 18 months, market sources told Inside MBS & ABS. “Deals are getting done...
The proposed “Public Guarantor” to replace the government-sponsored enterprises would not only provide an explicit backstop for qualifying MBS in a post-GSE world, it would also serve as a regulator of sorts under terms spelled out in a housing policy paper issued this week. The report by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission called for a “far greater role” for the private sector in the mortgage market, a continued but limited role for the federal government, the graduated elimination of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reform of the FHA. The BPC’s plan calls for...
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