The growing reliance on nonbanks could pose a risk to the government housing agencies, according to a recent study by the Urban Institute’s Housing Policy Center. Just four years ago, banks originated 70 percent of new mortgages, the researchers noted. But in 2017 nonbanks are originating 60 percent of all new mortgages and 76 percent of loans destined to be securitized by Ginnie Mae. UI called...
Roughly 27.3 percent of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae loans pooled in securities in the first half of 2017 were a month old at issuance, and 6.4 percent were two or three months old.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas indicted the former CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, along with two other former bank employees, for fraud.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac produced a total of $77.42 billion of new single-family mortgage-backed securities in August, their fourth consecutive monthly gain. August single-family MBS issuance was up 8.8 percent from the previous month at Fannie, and up 6.1 percent at Freddie. Their combined production represented a 7.8 percent increase from July. Although the two GSEs have seen steady growth in MBS issuance in recent months, production through the first eight months of 2017 was down 1.6 percent from a year ago. And other than January and February, every month in 2017 has yielded less new business than it did last year.
Some three dozen appraisal trade groups are fighting to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from issuing waivers that eliminate the need for traditional home valuations. Earlier this year, the GSEs announced they would offer appraisal waivers on some refinance loans to borrowers who have at least 20 percent equity in their homes. And more recently Fannie and Freddie said that they will extend the waiver to include certain purchase loans as well. But the groups said first purchase transactions carry higher risk from a property information standpoint and, to make matters worse, the change comes at a time when markets are at all-time highs and risk mitigation should be tantamount.
On the heels of making concessions for Houston area homeowners with property damaged by Hurricane Harvey, another storm threatens the housing industry this weekend. As Inside The GSEs went to press, Hurricane Irma was approaching the U.S., potentially hitting Florida and several southern states and prompting the GSEs to remind lenders and homeowners about their disaster-relief options for affected areas. Freddie Mac said it is monitoring the approach of Irma. “We stand ready to work with the nation’s servicers to ensure that mortgage relief is made available to homeowners who may be affected,” said Yvette Gilmore, Freddie’s vice president of single-family servicer performance management.
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