When Fannie Mae recently announced that its automated underwriting system would be free for all seller-servicers, matching a move made by Freddie Mac, lenders everywhere rejoiced. But not the nation’s mortgage cooperatives, which stand to lose business because the advantage of their “buying power” (with Fannie and Freddie, at least) is now greatly reduced. “Co-ops basically lose their main benefit,” said Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage ...

Private mortgage insurers will have to hold more capital for lender-paid mortgage insurance, but the changes will only apply to business written after Jan. 1, 2016. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week announced that lender-paid MI coverage will be subject to a 1.10 “multiplier” for mortgages with loan-to-value ratios above 90 percent. Mortgages with LTV ratios of 90 percent or less will be subject to a 1.35 percent multiplier. The government-sponsored enterprises ...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also is reviewing LPMI, but from a different angle: RESPA and the "discounting" of such policies…

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw a robust 22.3 percent increase in their single-family business during the second quarter of 2015, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. The two government-sponsored enterprises issued a combined $232.36 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities during the second quarter. It was their strongest quarterly production level since the third quarter of 2013, and it lifted ... [Includes three data charts]

A few years back, then FHFA Director Ed DeMarco cut the compensation of the CEOs as a response to lawmaker concerns.

However, refinance loans continued to account for the lion’s share of GSE business, Inside Mortgage Finance found.

For most HELOCs, the OCC said the end-of-draw period means that monthly payments change from interest-only to amortizing...

Many in the industry wonder why it appears that access to credit remains so tight, seven years after the last financial crisis.

The rating service reviewed 70 aspects of underwriting, including minimum credit scores, loan limits, tax return standards and appraisal requirements.

Prior to the financial crisis and the government takeover of Fannie and Freddie, some seller-servicers had “strategic alliance” deals that allowed them to pay under 15 basis points in g-fees...