Senior Vice President of Issuer and Portfolio Management Michael Drayne said recently the revised acknowledgement agreement could be ready by the end of September.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw a solid 10.0 percent increase in production of single-family mortgage-backed securities in August, and there are signs that the GSEs are regaining some lost market share as well. The two GSEs issued $91.59 billion of single-family MBS last month, their highest monthly total since August 2013. Interestingly, most of the increase came from rising refinance activity. The flow of refi loans is up 14.0 percent at Fannie and 8.7 percent at Freddie, while purchase-mortgage business rose 9.9 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively, at the two firms. Two thirds of the way through 2016, GSE single-family business was still down slightly from the first eight months of last year.
Credit unions and some others in the industry are apprehensive about the changes the GSEs’ Common Securitization Platform will bring as the date nears for Freddie Mac to issue the first mortgage-backed security on the system. The National Association of Federal Credit Unions wrote the Federal Housing Finance Agency last week citing concerns about the CSP’s potential impact on credit unions. While the trade group said it is not opposed to creating a more efficient platform with an open architecture to support multiple issuers, Ann Kossachev, NAFCU’s counsel, worries about a level playing field. “NAFCU and its member credit unions are concerned that the consolidation of the securitization programs will make it more difficult for...
HFSC Continues to Seek Five-Member Commission for FHFA. During a full committee markup this week, the House Financial Services Committee voted to convert regulatory agencies currently headed by single directors, such as the Federal Housing Finance Agency, along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, into bipartisan, five-member commissions. The HFSC voted to make the Treasury’s one-time GSE privatization study become an annual report/testimony. FHFA Publishes Open Government Plan 2016. The Federal Housing Finance Agency published a document this week highlighting some of the ways it plans to advance the principles of “transparency, participation and collaboration” through open communication and public engagement.
Plaintiffs in a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholder case challenging the GSEs’ quarterly earnings sweep dropped some of the charges in their original complaint to bypass the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s motion to consolidate all of the cases. The pair, Gary Hindes and David Jacobs, is looking to dismiss counts that allege derivative breach of contract and other similar claims and instead allege “unjust enrichment” against the Treasury Department. The plaintiffs bought the class action suit focusing on Delaware and Virginia corporate law on behalf of themselves and other stockholders. Court documents in David Jacobs and Gary Hindes v. The Federal Housing Finance Agency...
Freddie is busing potential homebuyers to tour affordable housing properties in Chicago as a way to reach low- to moderate income borrowers and unload foreclosed homes in the city.The event, to be held on Sept. 17, is sponsored by the GSE’s HomeSteps real estate unit and the Chicago Urban League. It will include tips on buying foreclosed properties.HomeSteps is the mortgage giant’s program to sell foreclosed properties. While the program is available across the country, it offers special financing for buyers in only 10 states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.