GSEs Offer Forbearance for Flood-Damaged Homes. With more than 40,000 homes hit by deadly flooding in Louisiana this week, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are offering temporary mortgage suspensions. Fannie Mae said servicers can grant forbearance of up to 90 days to borrowers they believe were impacted by the flood, whether they make contact with them or not. When they make contact, the servicer can offer up to six months of forbearance, which can then be extended with approval. Also, lenders must verify the condition of the property of loans originated and sold to the GSE. Freddie’s policy allows for forbearance and foreclosure suspension up to 12 months. Penalties and late fees against disaster-damaged homes are also waived.
Some 61.0 percent of loans securitized by Ginnie Mae in the first half of 2016 were purchase mortgages, compared to 46.2 percent for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…
The boom in mortgage originations during the second quarter of 2016 pushed volume higher in all the major product categories, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. The conventional-conforming sector saw the biggest increase in originations, a 36.0 percent jump from the first three months of the year. Lenders produced an estimated $272.0 billion of conventional-conforming mortgages, which represented ... [Includes two data charts]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency again made clear that it has no immediate plans to lower the guaranty fees charged by the two government-sponsored enterprises in conservatorship. Guaranty fees more than doubled from 2011 to 2015, rising to 56 basis points, according to the FHFA’s most recent annual report on g-fees. Moreover, g-fees crept up in the past year, averaging 59 bps in 2015, compared to 57 bps in 2014. But the FHFA believes that slight uptick ...
Fannie Mae recently released performance data covering some $70.0 billion of outstanding modified loans as well as $60.0 billion of modified loans that have either re-defaulted or paid down.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to whittle away at their retained mortgage portfolios during the second quarter, keeping up a focus on shedding less-liquid assets. The two government-sponsored enterprises held a combined $637.0 billion of mortgage loans and mortgage securities at June 30, down 17.6 percent from a year ago. Under the current terms of their conservatorship, Fannie and Freddie are required to reduce their mortgage portfolios by at least 15.0 percent a year. By the beginning of 2018, each GSE portfolio is expected...[Includes one data table]
Fannie Mae’s new securitization program for modified single-family mortgages could generate as much as $24 billion in issuance, according to an analysis by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The program will create “an asset class meriting investor focus,” BAML noted. Fannie recently released...