Applications for purchase mortgages surged last week as FHA borrowers rushed to get their applications in before April 1, when higher FHA annual insurance premiums took effect, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest weekly survey of mortgage loan applications. The boost in total purchase applications for the week ending March 29 was fueled by a nearly 7.0 percent increase in government-backed purchase applications, the MBA noted. “This [increase] was likely driven by borrowers applying for loans prior to the scheduled increase in FHA premiums that took effect on April 1,” said Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s vice president of research and economics. “On a year-over-year basis, purchase applications are up about 4 percent, in line with the trend we are seeing in home sales volume.” The 10 percent annual premium increase, the third in two consecutive years, applies...

Production of new non-agency MBS and non-mortgage ABS increased sharply in the first quarter of 2013, offsetting a slight decline in the agency MBS market. Total MBS and ABS issuance rose 2.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2012 to $515.3 billion during the first three months of 2013, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis and ranking. The first quarter of this year was up 19.7 percent from the same period in 2012, and it marked the strongest quarterly issuance since the third quarter of 2009. For a change, the increase did not come...[Includes two data charts]

Fannie Mae’s long-awaited year-end 2012 earnings report revealed record-setting profit for the government-sponsored enterprise on both a quarterly and yearly basis, due in part to the company’s loan buyback resolution agreements with Bank of America and a single-family book of business that’s outgrowing its legacy losses. Fannie reported net income this week of $17.2 billion for 2012, compared to a net loss of $16.9 billion in 2011, while the company reported fourth quarter earnings of $7.6 billion. “We have taken a number of actions since 2009 to manage...[Includes one data chart]

The International Accounting Standards Board has proposed an accounting treatment that would force holders of all but the most senior tranche of an MBS to account for those assets at fair value through net income – something that has the Mortgage Bankers Association expressing concern. The MBA generally supports the introduction of fair value through an “other comprehensive income” (OCI) classification for financial assets held within a business model in which assets are managed both in order to collect contractual cash flows and for possible sale, according to James Gross, vice president of financial accounting and public policy for the trade group. However, the MBA has...

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors is calling upon the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to adopt a petition process to define “rural” counties as the bureau prepares to implement balloon “qualified mortgage” and escrow requirements for rural lenders.

New non-agency MBS settlements and issuance.

Profits on originations by independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks declined in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with the previous quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suffered lower losses on their nonprime mortgage holdings in 2012 compared with previous years as mortgage performance has stabilized and investor demand for vintage non-agency mortgage-backed securities has increased.

Fannie Mae said Tuesday that the GSE expects to remain profitable “for the foreseeable future” after posting fourth quarter 2012 earnings of $7.6 billion and annual net income of $17.2 billion, the best quarterly and yearly showing in the company’s history.

Home loan-related consumer delinquencies, including those having to do with home equity lending, dropped across the board in the fourth quarter, the first time in a year, according to new data released Tuesday by the American Bankers Association.