Fannie Mae last month tweaked its underwriting system to account for the greater risk in loans with high debt-to-income ratios.

At his first appearance before Congress as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney restated his desire to reform the agency, while defending his leadership from Democrats’ harsh accusations that he is undermining the bureau.

Pershing Square Holdings, one of the largest speculators in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac common stock, is doubling down on its investment in the two government-sponsored enterprises by taking a different tack: Instead of increasing its positions in the common, it’s been buying up the junior preferred as well.

With GSE reform all but dead, rumors about possible administrative changes abound...

Home-price increases continued uninterrupted in early 2018 despite predictions by some industry analysts that tax reform enacted in December could have a negative impact on the housing market. Analysts add that the full impact of tax reform has yet to play out, though early returns look promising.

The American Federation of Teachers has threatened to end a mortgage partnership with Wells Fargo unless the bank stops providing support and financial services to the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers.

Fitch said the $3 billion reserve should be sufficient to cover income volatility during “the normal course of business, as seen when interest-rate volatility results in valuation adjustments within the GSEs’ derivative portfolios.”

The nonbank locked $2.3 billion of purchase mortgages in March, up 52.0 percent from the prior month.

The agency issued $92.58 billion in MBS backed by forward mortgages during the first three months of 2018.

Mulvaney – a former GOP Congressman from South Carolina and a Tea Party acolyte – declared: “The Bureau’s new strategic priorities are to recognize free markets and consumer choice and to take a prudent, consistent, and humble approach to enforcing the law.”