The Federal Housing Finance Agency declared this week that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will finish making claims on pre-conservatorship mortgage acquisitions by the end of this year. “It is time for us to wrap up all our open issues dealing with that period and move on,” said FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco during a speech at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association. “I look forward to a speedy resolution of remaining claims in the coming months.” The two GSEs became wards of the federal government in September 2008. For years, lenders have complained...
Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, said the structure of the government guaranty for MBS “must be explicit, appropriately priced, and stand behind private capital that is not guaranteed.”
Proposed options for adjusting FHA products, market presence and powers could have a direct effect on the availability of credit for borrowers and on the FHA’s ability to respond to changing market conditions, according to a new study by the Government Accountability Office. In certain instances, the recommended changes would entail tradeoffs – a downside for every upside. Industry participants, researchers and the FHA have suggested these options to improve FHA’s long-term viability or for shrinking the agency’s footprint in the mortgage market. The GAO undertook the study to determine ...
During a Q&A session at the convention, MBS co-inventor Lew Ranieri said there is no “viable” alternative to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, noting that if the two disappear banks will not rush to put 30-year fixed rate loans on their books.
It’s a done deal that the Federal Housing Finance Agency will make “across the board” reductions in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits that will take effect in May 2014, but factions in the housing and mortgage industries are already drafting contingency plans if the cuts are too deep. “I would say if they are significantly – 5 to 10 percent – reduced, then you will see new legislation,” said one industry lobbyist who’s been tracking the issue for well over a year. In other words, if the national loan limit falls...
The future of the mortgage market is assuming a much more prominent position in policy discussions among Congressional lawmakers, particularly in the Senate. But while there is real reason to expect progress on a legislative solution to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and a privately funded secondary market this year, Capitol Hill insiders warn that the endgame should be measured in years, not months. Speaking at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention in Washington this week, former House Financial Services Committee Senior Counsel Michael Borden and former Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Staff Director Dwight Fettig agreed it’s a virtual certainty that a final reform bill will not materialize during the 113th Congress. “I think we’re...
Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are working through the pile of potential repurchases related to pre-conservatorship loans, lenders remain concerned about buyback risk – even under the more lender-friendly policies that went into effect this year. “The representations and warranties framework we have in this industry absolutely does not work,” said Brian Fitzpatrick, president and CEO of LoanLogics, during a panel session at this week’s annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association. The new reps-and-warranties framework devised by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in January provides...
Early Thursday, EverBank disclosed that it is selling $13.4 billion of Ginnie Mae servicing rights, while transferring $6.9 billion in subservicing to Walter Investment Management Corp.
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