Ginnie Mae would become the linchpin of the conventional secondary mortgage market of the future, providing an explicit government guarantee for MBS issued by one of several new entities, under a plan being drafted by Senate Republicans.

The National Association of Realtors this week asked the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to lower the MBS guarantee fees charged by the two government-sponsored enterprises, citing lower corporate tax rates ushered in under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Freddie Mac is offering a new cash benefit to sellers of loans that fall in a narrow band of loan sizes that typically are used for specified MBS pools. The new category targeted for cash deliveries are 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan amounts ranging from $175,000 to $200,000.

Ginnie Mae is planning to make enhancements to its disclosure offerings in 2018 and 2019 to benefit MBS issuers and investors.

Among residential servicers, Ditech ranked 11th at yearend, according to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance.

Fannie and Freddie issued just $2.01 billion of structured credit notes during the fourth quarter, a sharp 44.5 percent drop from the previous period…

The NAR request comes at a time of rising interest rates…

New agency guidance makes clear that issuers are expected to make an ongoing investment in servicing capability…

CFPB Senior Advisor John Czwartacki said: “The bureau’s statutory mandate includes the supervision and enforcement of fair lending laws and regulations … the bureau will continue to perform those functions.”

Among servicers, Ditech ranked 11th at Dec. 31, according to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance.