The outgoing chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee this week urged the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to look to a final resolution of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while the progressives on the panel pressed the regulator and former Democrat congressman hard to approve principal reductions. “Everyone agrees that conservatorship cannot continue forever, so I hope my colleagues will keep working towards a more certain future for the housing market,” said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD, during a hearing with FHFA Director Mel Watt this week. But if “Congress cannot agree on a smooth, more certain path forward I urge you, Director Watt, to engage the Treasury Department in talks to end the conservatorship.” Watt did not address...

Look for down-to-the-wire haggling during the remaining hours of the 113th Congress between leaders in the Republican-controlled House and the soon-to-be minority Democrat Senate trying to hash out a deal on “tax extender” legislation, including two expired mortgage-related provisions. Nearly a full year after a series of temporary tax incentives – including the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act – expired at the end of 2013 due to partisan sniping and distinctly different legislative approaches of House and Senate tax-writing chairmen, both sides are being urged to close a deal forthwith. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen last month urged...

Mortgage delinquencies followed a seasonal trend and rose in the third quarter of 2014, according to the Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index. The Mortgage Bankers Association, however, reported a 19 basis point drop on a seasonally-adjusted basis that put the overall rate at 5.85 percent, the lowest since the financial crisis. The 24 lenders that reported delinquency data to Inside Mortgage Finance had an average delinquency rate of 6.63 percent, up from 6.54 percent in the second quarter. Unadjusted delinquency rates usually spike higher in the third quarter, even in the midst of a downward trend. The delinquency index also showed...[Includes one data chart]

Fitch warned that about 25 percent of the collateral received C or D grades for material violations or lack of documentation.

The two GSEs have been in conservatorship for six-plus years now, with no legislative solution to their future in sight.

The new bulletin discusses standards and guidelines on verification of disability income, including those under the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule.

With roughly six weeks left in 2014, some mortgage firms are rushing to sell MSRs as a way to bolster fourth quarter profits.

After a servicing sale closes, the GSEs must monitor each transaction to make sure the transfer of receivables took place in a timely manner and more…

For the first nine months of 2014, the group reported $10.94 billion in net mortgage-banking income, a stunning 43 percent decline from the same period in 2013

The top contributor to the new jumbo MBS from FirstKey is CMG Financial with a 13.8 percent share. Cornerstone, Bank of Internet and Impac also provided product.