Joe Garrett of Garrett, McAuley & Co. wonders whether the day is coming when the CFPB will take up residence at some of the nation’s largest nonbank lenders.
Increased securitization of purchase-money mortgages provided the lift for a pickup in the production of new single-family MBS by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae in May, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside MBS & ABS. The three agencies produced a total of $114.71 billion of new single-family MBS last month, a 5.3 percent increase from April’s volume. May was the third straight month of increased production and it just barely exceeded the $113.56 billion issued during the same period a year ago. For the first five months of 2016, production was down 2.8 percent from last year. Purchase mortgages accounted...[Includes two data tables]
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, wants the Federal Housing Finance Agency to delay any decision regarding contesting homeowner association foreclosures that will extinguish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rights under controversial state super-lien laws. Warren, who co-signed a letter to FHFA Director Mel Watt in May with Sen. Edward Markey, D-MA, and eight Massachusetts lawmakers, wants the FHFA to first solicit public comments on the potential change in policy. Under super-lien laws in 22 states, including Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia community associations are given...
The letter is meant to counteract correspondence sent earlier in the week to Watt from 10 trade organizations and community groups that want the GSEs to build capital...
Two major banks recently launched their own 3 percent downpayment programs, which stakeholders say could shift volume from FHA to the government-sponsored enterprises. How much volume though remains unclear, analysts say. Last week, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase rolled out their respective low downpayment programs for first-time homebuyers and low-to-moderate-income families, which require only 3 percent down. Neither program involves the FHA, and they appear designed to pick up where Wells and Chase left off when they decided to cut back on their FHA business in order to reduce liability risk. Wells and Chase are among several major banks and nonbanks that have coughed up billions of dollars in settlements with the federal government in the last couple of years to resolve allegations of fraud under the False Claims Act and violations of ...