Most of the CFPB’s requirements stemming from its blizzard of mortgage rulemakings in January take effect sometime next year. But there are a few notable exceptions, including the Truth in Lending Act ban on mandatory arbitration provisions in certain mortgage loans, which kicks in June 1, 2013. “Lenders now using mortgage loan documentation containing such provisions should take steps to ensure that they (and references to them) are removed from documentation to be used for loans that will be subject to the ban,” said Alan...

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is apprehensive about the unintended consequences of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s decision to limit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac future mortgage purchases to ‘qualified mortgages’ as defined by the final rule issued earlier this year by the CFPB. Earlier this month, the FHFA directed the two government-sponsored enterprises to limit their future mortgage acquisitions to loans that meet the requirements for a qualified mortgage, including those that meet the special or...

Real estate investment trusts are beginning to scale back their investments in MBS. Meanwhile, some are hunting for MSRs.

Since the housing bust, the Federal Reserve has purchased roughly $1.1 trillion of MBS backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

HUD wants the authority to fix the government's ailing reverse mortgage program.

Hedge funds are paying as much as 20 cents on the dollar for preferred stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Meanwhile, the GSE buyback war is not over yet.

Deephaven Mortgage, a new subprime lender headed by a former Goldman Sachs official, is seeking warehouse lines of credit, according to one banker. The banker, requesting anonymity, said his institution was approached by the North Carolina-based Deephaven in the past few weeks but decided to pass on the credit. The warehouse lender said he believes that, for now, the traditional warehouse community will not extend credit to subprime lenders, even if they have high downpayment requirements and [Incluides two briefs]

SunTrust Mortgage is in settlement discussions with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice over alleged violation of the False Claims Act in connection with the bank’s origination of FHA loans. The Atlanta-based mortgage lender disclosed the ongoing talks in a recent regulatory filing after being notified by the agencies of the results of their preliminary investigation during the first quarter of 2013. Even with the ongoing settlement talks, SunTrust continued to deny any wrongdoing, making clear its disagreement with the government’s analysis and methodology. It gave no further ...

Changes to the FHA’s mortgage insurance premium cancellation policy, which take effect on June 3, could ultimately cause some FHA loans closed after the effective date to become a “higher-priced mortgage loan” that no investor would want to purchase, lenders warned. Eliminating the MIP cancellation and requiring insurance to be kept for the life of the mortgage loan will raise the annual percentage rate 150 basis points above the average prime offer rate (APOR) index. This will trigger a higher-priced mortgage loan (HPML) designation for some ...

FHA jumbo loan originations increased in the first quarter of 2013 as well as from the same period last year pending hikes in the mortgage insurance premium and the required downpayment on loans above $625,500, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of FHA data. FHA jumbo lenders produced an estimated $5.44 billion in loans over $417,000 during the first three months of the year, up 6.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2012 and 14.0 percent higher compared to the volume from a year ago. Consumers continued to use the FHA jumbo product despite FHA’s decision to raise the annual mortgage insurance premiums on ... [2 charts]