“We’ve got approximately $72 million [of HARP refinance business that can be done] in this metropolitan area," said FHFA director Mel Watt about Chicago. "People won’t come in and say I want that money.”

A promising surge in purchase-mortgage lending was the key ingredient in the 13.3 percent increase in agency issuance of single-family MBS during the second quarter of 2014, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside MBS & ABS. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae issued a total of $212.23 billion of single-family MBS during the second quarter. That was a nice gain from an exceptionally poor $187.38 billion in production during the first three months, but it still marked the second lowest quarterly volume since the beginning of 2005 – and it fell short of the $213.12 billion produced at the low point in the financial crisis at the end of 2008. The agencies securitized...[Includes two data charts]

The Home Affordable Refinance Program has nearly reached the practical limit of eligible homeowners willing and/or able to refi – whether or not the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac further tweaks the program’s eligibility requirements, say industry observers. This week, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt met with community leaders in Chicago in a town hall-style meeting to discuss the benefits of HARP. Last fall, the agency launched a nationwide public awareness campaign to reach eligible borrowers and encourage them to participate in HARP, with little apparent success. “We are...

Real estate investment trusts that have been gobbling up MBS the past few years – and paying hefty dividends in the process – may have some more room to run, especially if interest rates remain relatively benign. “Given the tailwinds of lower prepayment speeds and Fed purchases, we believe that payout levels should remain stable in the near term,” said one veteran analyst who works for a top five bank. This analyst, who tracks several large REITs that invest in agency securities, added...

So, you doubt our 2Q origination estimate? Here’s what an executive from a top-five warehouse bank told us: “We’re experiencing a significant pick up in outstandings."

A GSE reform bill filed late this week by a trio of House Democrats is less a last ditch effort to push their measure across the finish line this year than a bid to have the first word in next year’s debate over housing finance reform, note industry observers. The Partnership to Strengthen Homeownership Act, H.R. 5055, by Reps. John Delaney (MD), John Carney (DE), and Jim Himes (CT), follows through on their January draft proposal to seek a “middle ground” between the existing, politically untenable legislative proposals.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency late this week finally unveiled new eligibility standards for the mortgage insurance industry, introducing for the first time risk-based capital rules that are tied to a measurement called “available assets.” Immediately after the rule hit the market, several MI firms said they support the idea that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must have strong financial counterparties, while hinting they will have more to say on the topic in the near future.

Last week, new GSE repurchase requirements announced this spring took effect as a potential alternative to repurchase for certain mortgage loans for which the mortgage insurance has been rescinded. Among the requirements are an “MI stand-in,” which Fannie Mae defines as “the full mortgage insurance benefit that would have been payable under the original mortgage insurance policy if the mortgage loan liquidates.” In May, both Fannie and Freddie Mac announced that repurchase requests will no longer be an automatic response in the event that MI is rescinded.

A new audit issued last week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s official watchdog revealed that an unnamed nonbank special servicer raised red flags for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their regulator.The report by the FHFA’s Office of Inspector General prompted the FHFA to issue guidance on the counterparty risk posed by nonbank servicers by year’s end. The OIG audit said the Finance Agency and the two GSEs “have responded well to specific problems at nonbank special servicers.”