The plaintiffs allege the net worth sweep of the GSE profits is the clearest manifestation of the FHFA’s “overarching policy” to operate Fannie and Freddie for the exclusive benefit of the federal government.
Jumbo mortgage production declined 32.9 percent during the first quarter of 2017, along with virtually every other part of the home-loan market, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. An estimated $70.0 billion of non-agency jumbo mortgages were originated during the first quarter, a 30.0 percent decline from the previous three-month period. In addition, some $29.0 billion of conforming-jumbo mortgages were delivered into Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities in the first three months of the year. These are loans on one-unit properties that exceed the baseline agency loan limits and are eligible because they’re secured by homes in designated high-cost markets. The agency-jumbo market was...[Includes three data tables]
It’s been a busy spring for sales of mortgage servicing rights, with investment advisors pushing out several new auction notices a week. And there’s even more good news: for the first time in several years, prices appear to be balanced, with neither buyers nor sellers having the upper hand. “This is the most balanced market I’ve seen since 2013 or 2014,” said one East Coast-based investment banker, who spoke under the condition he and his firm remain anonymous. “Right now, I think both buyers and sellers can get good deals.” Another positive for the market: “In terms of bidders, there seems to be plenty.” Mark Garland, president of MountainView Servicing Group, Denver, sees...
Franklin American Mortgage has relaxed and removed many of its overlays across the company’s portfolio of products, including revising the minimum FICO credit score down by 20 points on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. The company said it wants to more closely align its policies with current agency requirements for loans sold to the government-sponsored enterprises and insured by the FHA and VA. Franklin revised...
The mortgage industry has come to the conclusion that meaningful housing-finance reform is so elusive that any legislation being introduced is a long shot, even in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which seems to be more involved in the topic than any other panel on Capitol Hill. Over the past month, rumors have circulated that some senators on the committee, including Bob Corker, R-TN, have been discussing with fellow members what an outline for housing-finance reform might look like, but with nothing committed to paper. A spokeswoman for the committee told...
We also caught wind of a large servicing auction that took place last week. The broker on the transaction had not returned a media inquiry on the deal...
The CFPB recently announced its plan to review and evaluate the effectiveness of its ability-to-repay/ qualified mortgage rule, as per the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act, and is soliciting interested parties for their input. “We are asking the public to comment on our plan, to suggest sources of data, and generally to provide information that would help with the assessment,” bureau officials said in a blog posting revealing the plan. They added that the agency views the pending review and evaluation as an opportunity. “Conducting the assessment will advance our knowledge of the benefits and costs of the key requirements of the ATR/QM rule,” said the officials. “The assessment will also provide the public with information on the mortgage lending market, ...
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