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 ...

Although purchase-mortgage lending is expected to pick up considerably in the second and third quarters, the refi market isn’t dead yet.

Fannie Mae said the result is that potential buyers may be wrongly disqualifying themselves before they even apply for a mortgage…

Refinance lending gained strength in the first quarter of 2016 and surpassed origination of purchase-money mortgages, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $195 billion of refinance loans in the first three months of this year, an 11.4 percent increase over the fourth quarter. With purchase-mortgage production slumping by 11.9 percent to $185 billion, the refi market accounted for 51.3 percent of total originations for the first quarter. Although purchase-mortgage lending is expected to pick up considerably in the second and third quarters, the refi market isn’t...[Includes three data tables]

A strong spring home-buying season and continued low rates are feeding optimism among selected lenders, fueling hopes that healthy production in May will lead to an even better June, according to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance. “May was bigger than April by 10 to 15 percent at both Skyline and New Leaf,” said Bill Dallas, CEO of Skyline Lending, Calabasas, CA. (New Leaf is the wholesale affiliate.) Not too long ago, Dallas wasn’t feeling all that optimistic about 2016. But that was then. “The year started out...

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase recently launched programs to deliver low-downpayment mortgages to Fannie Mae that differ from the government-sponsored enterprises’ recent expansion into high loan-to-value financing. Both banks introduced new 97 percent LTV programs they believe are easier to use than the GSE initiatives and, for certain borrowers, a better choice than FHA financing. Wells Fargo’s “yourFirstMortgage” requires a minimum of 3 percent downpayment for fixed-rate mortgages. The company will consider FICO scores significantly lower than other similar high-LTV programs, to as low as 620, along with debt-to-income ratios up to 45 percent. Factoring in nontraditional uses of credit such as rent, utility bill payments and tuition is...

Two of the deals offer a range of $50 million to $100 million per month in GSE servicing rights and have a bid deadline of early next week.

Ten trade organizations and community groups this week sent a letter to FHFA Director Mel Watt imploring him to suspend the quarterly GSE dividend paid to the Treasury Department...

Many cite compliance spending, in particular the hiring of attorneys, for the increase in costs.