Interest rates are rising and that means more MSR packages are likely to hit the market.

Quite a few executives believe the central bank should move forward with a “one and done” strategy and be done with it...

The bottom fell out of the mortgage-refinance market in the third quarter of 2015, and not even a historic surge in purchase-money lending could pick up the slack, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. An estimated 32.5 percent freefall in refi originations during the third quarter had a much bigger impact on the conventional market than on government-insured lending. Conventional-conforming mortgage production fell ... [Includes two data charts]

In a past audit, the OIG criticized the FHFA for lacking a “sufficient number of examiners.” In the new budget, the FHFA plans to increase its examinations head count to 275 from 248 in FY 2015.

At the end of fiscal year 2015 the two GSEs had combined REO holdings of 78,738 units, a 36 percent decline from the prior year…

This observer, requesting anonymity, said bluntly that the MBS “trade” is over, a summation that is bolstered in part by so many Wall Street firms either closing their trading desks or scaling back...

The loans to be included in the deal are similar to the types of mortgages that have been included in jumbo MBS issued in recent years.

The hedging results of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – including instruments bought to protect the value of agency MBS – had different results in the third quarter as interest rates unexpectedly declined and stayed low for several weeks. Overall, Fannie booked $2.6 billion of negative charges against the value of its derivatives in the third quarter while Freddie booked a much larger charge on its hedging activities: $4.2 billion. The differential did not pass...

The authors want the Treasury Department to end the quarterly profit sweep and allow Fannie and Freddie to raise about $100 billion in additional capital through several rounds of new common stock sales...

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association recently filed an amicus brief in support of the defendants to reverse a case in which the Federal Housing Finance Agency argued that Nomura Holdings sold shoddy MBS to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In the case of FHFA vs. Nomura Holdings, a judge ruled in May, after a three-week bench trial, that Nomura and RBS Securities were liable for the claims brought by the FHFA and knowingly sold bad MBS to the government-sponsored enterprises before the 2008 financial crisis. The MBS were backed by mortgages with an unpaid principal balance of about $2.05 billion at the time of purchase. Nomura appealed...