In his comments to reporters, FHFA Director Mel Watt did not rule out Fannie and Freddie engaging in principal reductions to help troubled consumers who have GSE loans.
In a wide-ranging speech – and in supporting documents – Mel Watt also vowed that the GSEs will continue to permit “compensating factors” when weighing a decision to guarantee mortgages where the debt-to-income ratio is north of 43 percent.
On the M&A front, a new report from Compass Point Research & Trading estimates that if PHH Corp. finds a way to sell its mortgage and fleet divisions, the stock should be worth $30 a share.
Nationstar made “right-party” contact with delinquent borrowers to determine their eligibility for HAMP in only 65 percent of such cases from March 2013 through February, the government found.
Members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee from each party said there is interest on Capitol Hill in moving technical corrections legislation aimed at the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. However, housing finance reform legislation comes first, said Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN, and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND, in comments to attendees at the Independent Community Bankers Association of America’s recent 2014 Washington policy summit. Neither explained exactly why housing reform is the priority, but one observer speculated that, in football terms, “it’s probably because housing reform is closer to the goal line.” Given the suddenly deteriorating prospects for the leading measure in that regard, the so-called Johnson-Crapo bill, that doesn’t bode well for those...
Among the changes, the two GSEs will no longer require that a lender automatically repurchase a residential loan when a mortgage insurance company rescinds coverage.
Overall, refi loans accounted for 45.7 percent of agency MBS production in the first four months of 2014, compared to 77.2 percent during the same period last year.
It’s now believed that the legislation will clear the committee, but Majority Leader Harry Reid will not allow it to move any further because of weak support overall.
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