Stratmor Senior Partner Garth Graham recently offered a handful of things mortgage lenders should consider to make the best decisions possible about their investments in digital technology. First, lender executives should be sure they clearly know the business case for the investments they are making. “Without a very specific business case, it is very difficult to generate the additional revenue or lower the expense necessary to handle the investments that are being made in new technology ...
There have been a number of moving parts in GSE shareholder cases recently, including oral arguments heard this week in one case and three separate lawsuits asking the Supreme Court of the United States to review the constitutionality of the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Attorney and managing partner David Thompson with Cooper & Kirk in Washington, D.C., who represents the shareholders in Christopher Roberts vs. FHFA, participated in this week’s oral arguments in the Seventh Circuit Court. He called the net-worth sweep unlawful because it imposed a “mandatory zero-capital regime and violated its own statutory commands to preserve and conserve assets and restore them to soundness.”
Purchase-mortgage originations are expected to increase slightly in 2018, but not enough to offset declines in refinance activity, according to industry analysts. On average, economists at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association project that $1.21 trillion in purchase mortgages will be originated next year, up 5.9 percent from the amount expected in 2017. “All the pieces are in place for stronger growth in 2018 and beyond,” Michael Fratantoni, the MBA’s chief economist ...
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt said the agency is reviewing the possibility of having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac update their credit score model requirements. But first he has questions. Although it wouldn’t be implemented until late 2019, Watt, while speaking at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual conference last week, reminded that it’s not an easy decision. The FHFA plans to issue a request for input sometime this month to get stakeholder feedback on the issue and make an informed decision about the GSEs’ future credit score model requirements in 2018 as soon as it completes reviewing responses to the RFI.
Property value estimates from traditional appraisals may have a significant amount of uncertainty behind them, but Collateral Analytics says it may have a solution that could improve the accuracy of appraisals. Loan purchasers and portfolio lenders can benefit from CA’s new tool, which can be used for strategic lending and better risk management, according to Michael Sklarz, founder and president of Collateral Analytics. “We are taking an appraisal and its accompanying information ...
Nearly half of the loans securitized by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae during the third quarter came from lenders’ retail platforms, a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis shows. Correspondents generated 38.8 percent of the market and posted the highest purchase-mortgage concentration, 77.8 percent. Mortgage brokers were involved in 11.6 percent of agency business, with a relatively high 35.9 percent refinance distribution ... [Includes one data chart]
Hensarling to Retire After Term Ends. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, announced that he will not run for re-election and is retiring to spend more time with his family. Some think Hensarling’s departure could speed up Congressional efforts to enact housing finance reform. However, Cowen and Company said this is ultimately negative for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as Hensarling now becomes the top contender to replace Mel Watt as FHFA director in January 2019. “Hensarling has previously proposed liquidating the enterprises. At the least, we would expect him to shrink the GSE share of the market,” said analyst Jaret Seiberg. MBA President to Retire. Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO David Stevens...
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