It stands to reason that with non-agency jumbo mortgage-backed security issuance reviving to some degree, prices paid in the secondary market for jumbo whole loans are rising. Traders and jumbo consultants who play in the sector tell Inside Nonconforming Markets that prices for quality product are now above par, at 103. As recently as last fall, prices were in the 101 and 102 range, depending on the lender and the underlying collateral. “The market for whole loans is alive and well for ...
The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hasn’t marked up a bill in more than a year, but Democrats and Republicans on the panel pushed this week to begin the process of reforming the government-sponsored enterprises. “I think the time is right to address this issue and move it forward,” Sen. Jon Tester, D-MT, said this week at a hearing by the committee. “I think there are folks on both sides of the aisle that want to quit playing with this like a political football and ...
Issuance of non-agency MBS quadrupled in the first quarter, according to new figures compiled by Inside MBS & ABS. Firms selling securities include Ocwen and Nationstar.
Banking regulators acknowledged problems with the foreclosure reviews conducted by the nation's megabanks and have agreed to evaluate the use of independent consultants in regulatory actions.
Expect quality control to be the single most critical component at the top of a long list of requirements for prospective lenders seeking to do business with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to agency officials and experts during an Inside Mortgage Finance webinar this week. The two government-sponsored enterprises are ready, willing and able to do business with new seller/servicer partners, if they are prepared to demonstrate, in a transparent and painstaking way, they are an opportunity to Fannie or Freddie and not a risk, National Union Mortgage President and CEO Bill Cosgrove told webinar attendees. “It’s really all about quality control. Every area of your organization has to be...
For as long as Edward DeMarco remains acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, he said he will push forward with the agency’s strategic plan to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while encouraging the return of private capital to the secondary market. DeMarco, along with FHFA Inspector General Steve Linick, testified before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee this week. The hearing to evaluate the FHFA’s conduct as regulator and conservator to the government-sponsored enterprises occurred amid reports that the White House is poised to nominate Moody’s Analytics’ Chief Economist Mark Zandi as the FHFA’s new permanent director. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were chartered...
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is moving forward with its search to find a CEO to run the new common mortgage securitization platform that will one day be shared by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and, potentially, other issuers. But it’s anybody’s guess how much the regulator is willing to pay to get a top-flight candidate, according to industry observers. At least two individuals recently were approached about the job, according to these observers. Funding for the project will presumably come...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s fiscal 2014 budget proposal is in for some rough sailing in Congress as House appropriators, unmoved by pleas to soften the impact of sequestration, criticized HUD’s lack of commitment to fiscal reform. Appearing as the sole witness before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan had an earful from Republican lawmakers who expressed “deep concern” about the lack of comprehensive reform proposals in the proposed budget. Subcommittee Chairman Tom Latham, R-IA, expressed...
RSS