Some banks nearly tripled their bulk MSR acquisitions in 2Q16. SunTrust, for example, bought $7.41 billion of GSE servicing during the period, making it the third most active buyer in the market.

Sen. Grassley pointed out that production decreased after Wertheimer’s tenure began in September 2014 with just three audit reports produced in 2015.

The IG accused the FHFA of shirking its responsibility to effectively examine Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...

Bids on both packages are due later in the week.

The Republican platform, released this week during the Republican National Convention, would scale back the government’s role in housing and make borrowers and lenders more responsible. But it offered a somewhat vague prescription for what to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “Our goal is to advance responsible homeownership while guarding against the abuses that led to the housing collapse,” the platform states. The GOP said housing reform should include clear underwriting standards and guidelines on predatory and acceptable lending practices – standards that are arguably at the core of the Dodd-Frank Act that’s roundly criticized by the party. Republicans blamed...

Mortgages that allow buyers to make low downpayments are making a quiet comeback, according to a recent analysis from Deutsche Bank. But do they have the staying power? So far, seven lenders have partnered with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in special programs to offer loans requiring anywhere from no money down to 3 percent down. Although the government-sponsored enterprises cap their high loan-to-value product at 97 percent, some lenders step in and subsidize the extra funds needed to make up the difference. The GSEs began...

Large depository institutions continued to let their servicing portfolios of loans pooled in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities slowly decline in the second quarter of 2016. A new Inside The GSEs analysis shows that banks, thrifts and credit unions still accounted for the lion’s share of GSE MBS servicing at the end of June. Depositories serviced $2.778 trillion of Fannie and Freddie single-family loans tied to MBS, or 66.6 percent of the total market. But that was down 0.9 percent from the previous quarter during a period when the total servicing of GSE single-family MBS edged slightly higher. Nonbanks, however, .... [includes two charts]

This week, the Republicans adopted their official platform and called the GSE conservatorship a “corrupt” way of doing business. The GOP said the Great Recession devastated the housing market and caused taxpayers to pay billions of dollars to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They blame Democrats in Congress and the Obama administration for preventing efforts to reform the GSEs since they’ve been in conservatorship. “Their corrupt business model lets shareholders and executives reap huge profits while the taxpayers cover all loses,” the platform said. While vague in taking a stance on what should be done with Fannie and Freddie, the platform simply stated that the utility of both agencies should be “reconsidered.”

The Federal Housing Finance Agency remains resistant to taking on Property-Assessed Clean Energy loans despite this week’s announcement that the FHA will allow PACE loans.PACE programs provide financing for home energy improvements and water conservation, repaid through an assessment added to the property’s tax bill. FHA’s new guidance addresses state programs where the PACE obligation is treated like a property tax with priority over an FHA mortgage lien.However, like other mortgage industry critics of PACE loans, FHFA Director Mel Watt, said he continues to have “serious concerns” with how PACE programs are financed.

Trade groups and a long list of Congressmen are crying foul and urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency to not include a question asking borrowers’ language preference on its new Uniform Residential Loan Application. The FHFA, along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are considering adding the question as a last- minute addition to the URLA. However, in June, nine trade groups, including the American Bankers Association, Consumer Mortgage Coalition and Mortgage Bankers Association, wrote FHFA Director Mel Watt to voice their concerns, many of which focused on compliance and discrimination issues. They argued that a language preference question requires lenders to ask borrowers sensitive questions before...