Limiting the maximum amount of cash-out refinances to 80 percent of the current value of a home could significantly decrease defaults, according to new research by the Federal Reserve. Such limits on refis are already in place in Texas, with the Fed economist suggesting that the restrictions could be put in place nationwide, along with recourse provisions, in an effort to limit defaults. Steven Laufer, an economist at the Fed, looked into mortgage performance on a sample of properties in Los Angeles County ...

CashCall, a leading refinance and consumer lending specialist, is streamlining and automating its mortgage loan processing with a mobile smart application geared towards tech-savvy consumers. The California-based lender says it has been using state-of-the-art technology in its mortgage operations and has now upped the ante with Kofax Mobile Capture and Kofax Transmission Modules. These products enable borrowers to use their hand-held mobile devices to capture, send and parse mortgage documents ...

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, overturning a lower court ruling that the counties and state of Michigan were entitled to collect local real estate transfer taxes from the two government-sponsored enterprises. This week’s unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said the lower court is not in a position to second-guess Congress by creating exemptions to tax statutes. “The statutes at issue here plainly state that the defendants are exempt from ‘all taxation,’” the court ruled. In June 2011, Oakland and Genesee counties each filed suit claiming Fannie and Freddie recorded deeds and other conveyances without paying the Michigan Transfer Tax.

Freddie Mac this week issued $1.04 billion of mortgage-backed securities backed by modified loans.The notes are being pooled into new Freddie Mac “Fixed-Rate Modified Participation Certificates” with new "MA-MD" prefixes. The GSE bought the majority of these loans out of participation certificates when they were at least 120 days past due. A Freddie official said that it will not sell the new bonds in the open market and instead will hold them on balance sheet.

Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’ conservatorships have caused the government’s involvement in the mortgage market to “balloon to unhealthy proportions” since the two GSEs entered government conservatorship in 2008, creating far-reaching effects on the private sector, crowding out potential capital and blocking real market competition, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.The fix, the MBA suggests, calls for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to require the two GSEs to accept loans with deeper levels of credit enhancement in exchange for reductions in guaranty fees and other loan-level charges.“By requiring the GSEs to offer programs such as up-front risk sharing between lenders and the GSEs, the FHFA would be taking a big step in the right direction,” said MBA President and CEO David Stevens. “Ultimately, this would put private capital, not taxpayers, in the first loss position and would allow lenders of all sizes to compete, driving down costs for borrowers.”

The $443 million non-agency MBS, Chase’s second of the year, is set to receive AAA ratings with credit enhancement ranging from 6.90 percent to 10 percent for the top tranches.

Freddie Mac is creating a large MBS backed by reperforming mortgages. But don't look for the bond to be sold in the open market.

Mortgage bankers originated $54 billion of jumbo loans in the first quarter, a slight decline from the prior period but the second best showing in two years.

The two biggest components of the residential mortgage market – conventional loans below the conforming loan limits and government-insured mortgages – saw measurable declines in new originations in early 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. The conventional-conforming market – nearly all of which is financed through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitization – fell to an estimated $333.0 billion during the first quarter of 2013. That was down 5.4 percent from the fourth quarter of last year, but the sector still accounted for a hefty 66.6 percent of total originations during the period. The conventional-conforming market share hasn’t changed...[Includes two data charts]

CashCall, one of the largest call center lenders in the U.S., is open for offers, Inside Mortgage Finance has learned.