A North Carolina federal judge announced from the bench this week he is considering dismissing a Justice Department fraud case against Bank of America, citing a less than overwhelming preponderance of evidence. U.S. District Judge Max Cogburn said during a hearing that he is leaning toward shutting down the DOJ’s case as per the March recommendation of U.S. Magistrate Judge David Cayer, who found that the Justice Dept. has failed to prove the bank made “material” false statements to the Federal Housing Finance Board. “DOJ may not have...

The amendment would prohibit the GSEs from channeling cash to the NHTF, which was established under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

“I’m tired of having the AMC acting as my pimp," said one appraiser. "The current situation is ruining the appraisal profession and turning appraisers into whores for the AMCs."

Rosner of Graham Fisher & Co. also wants to see the use “stringent methods” to price guarantees separate from the GSE's.

We’re hearing unconfirmed reports that the Federal Housing Finance Agency may not hire a chief executive and chairman for the common securitization platform project after all…

How much stock to insiders at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac actually own?

Among the 12 questions that the FHFA asks the public to consider is this: “If the enterprises [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] continue to raise g-fees, will overall loan originations decrease?”

Agency issuance of new single-family MBS edged up slightly from April to May, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis of loan-level data. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae produced a combined $68.66 billion of new MBS last month, although that was only a 2.4 percent increase over April. There are some positives in the underlying data, however. First, purchase-mortgage volume increases outpaced...[Includes two data charts]

Congressional legislative action – something likely out of reach for at least the next two years – is either a part of the problem or the only solution to unraveling the final fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to two distinctly different schools of thought being argued this week. The rhetorical boxing match pitted Urban Institute Fellow Jim Parrott’s thesis that only a legislative fix by Congress can free the two government-sponsored enterprises from the status quo against Jim Millstein, CEO of Millstein & Co., who contends that the GSEs should emerge recapitalized from conservatorship forthwith, a feat that can and should be executed via “administrative reform.” Parrott fired...

One last thought on Mel Watt, FHFA and expanding the credit box: Members of the GOP who were big boosters of the recently departed Ed DeMarco will probably read the g-fee comment notice and have a fit…