It’s now possible for homebuyers to use sweat equity to pay their entire downpayment and all closing costs as Freddie Mac has expanded the parameters of its Home Possible mortgage.

At the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have simplified policies on short sales and deed-in-lieu of foreclosures. The new policies are intended to mitigate losses for the government-sponsored enterprises and servicers by spelling out when servicers can consider borrowers for these actions and what documentation is necessary.

Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s loan-loss reserves could be substantially impacted by a new accounting standard that requires companies to immediately book potential losses.

Moelis & Co. last week released an updated version of its “Blueprint for Restoring Safety and Soundness to the GSEs” that calls for recapitalizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac immediately.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say they support the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s proposal to include a leverage ratio on their future capital requirements.

Single-family mortgage business slowed predictably at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last month, although there was surprising resilience in the refinance market. [Includes two data charts.]

It remains to be seen if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s controversial regulation-by-enforcement approach is as dead as the agency’s current leadership says it is, industry attorneys said.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced plans for uniform servicing data standards in 2012 but stopped the project the following year due to concerns from servicers already dealing with elevated delinquencies.

New requirements from Ginnie Mae addressing counterparty risk management by issuers could wind up making the agency’s approval more valuable, while requiring more transparency about their financing of mortgage servicing rights.

The FHA is calling for broader statutory authority for the Mortgagee Review Board in determining the type and amount of penalties the board can assess to strengthen lender enforcement and eliminate the need for False Claims Act cases.