According to figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, Flagstar is the nation’s second largest wholesale/broker lender. It also has a fairly large presence in the warehouse market.
Last week’s appointment of four special advisors to the Federal Housing Finance Agency by new Director Mel Watt has primed speculation of a policy-course correction at the FHFA but specific changes remain anyone’s guess, say industry observers. Watt added three current and former Obama administration officials into the agency’s fold “to provide counsel on policy and strategic decisions” at the agency while retaining an advisor from former FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco’s tenure. Two of the posts appear to represent new areas of focus for the agency – consumers and industry relations – that were often friction points under DeMarco. Bob Ryan, a former Freddie Mac executive, joins...
Ginnie Mae is telling sellers of mortgage servicing rights – and their advisors – that it wants upwards of 90 days to approve MSR transfers compared to just 30 currently. The agency gave seller/servicers a heads-up on the longer approval times in late November at an “education summit” in Washington attended by both new and existing issuers. A copy of Ginnie’s presentation was provided to Inside Mortgage Finance. Advisory sources said...[Includes one data chart]
Expect Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders to continue to clamor for attention and satisfaction this year whether or not the Obama administration and lawmakers confront claims that the government-sponsored enterprises should share their profits with investors, say industry observers. Late last week, Sen. Bob Corker, R-VA, sought to walk back comments he made regarding GSE shareholder rights while speaking at a policy forum in Washington, DC. Corker said that he and other lawmakers drafting an enhanced GSE reform bill in the Senate recognize that shareholder claims “have to be dealt with.” Following news of Corker’s remark, GSE preferred shares posted...
The FHFA IG audit estimates that some 9.5 percent of claims for pre-foreclosure property inspections in 2011 and 2012 resulted in $5 million of overpayments by Fannie Mae.
It may be time for the mortgage industry to take a chill-pill: applications are on the rise again, rates have stabilized and some firms are actually hiring loan officers.
The GSEs' largesse is gaining new attention in Washington with the news that the two helped the U.S. government post a budget surplus of $53 billion in December.
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