Industry reaction to Obama’s speech was generally favorable, particularly as it related to his call for continued, unfettered access to the 30-year FRM.

Stated-income loans are being offered at 5.49 percent as long as the borrower puts down 20 percent. Meanwhile, Walter wants to keep its contract terms with Fannie Mae secret.

PNC Financial Services Group is under federal investigation regarding claims on expenses it incurred in connection with the foreclosure of loans insured or guaranteed by the FHA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, PNC disclosed a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York seeking documents related to the foreclosures. PNC said the inquiry is in its early stage and that ...

In other words, if Fannie keeps earning money at this rate, it could repay its “debt” to Treasury by year-end or the first quarter of next year.

Wells Fargo cuts 760-plus mortgage workers. Meanwhile, Bexil American enters the New Jersey market through the wholesale channel.

Specifically, Sen. Warren says she wants information on seller/servicers that were granted price breaks and the “basis” for “granting more favorable terms.”

Industry observers are reacting favorably to what is known about a recently announced agreement between Fannie Mae and the newest entrant to the mortgage insurance space to take up a risk-transfer transaction with the government-sponsored enterprise. In a agreement finalized July 15 but announced just last week, National Mortgage Insurance Corp. said it came out on top of a formal bidding process with Fannie to insure a pool of approximately $5.0 billion in mortgages as the GSE looks to expand its risk sharing with private entities. “Fannie Mae selected...

President Obama this week affirmed his view that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be wound down through a “responsible transition” to a new mortgage finance system that preserves the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage while emphasizing private capital. In a highly anticipated speech in Phoenix this week, Obama listed among his key reform principles that private capital should be in a first-loss position and the government should provide an appropriately priced, explicit guaranty to ensure continued access to the 30-year FRM. Those are the major components of the bipartisan reform legislation drafted by Sens. Bob Corker, R-TN, and Mark Warner, D-VA, although the president did not mention the bill by name. Obama also said...

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and mortgage-backed securities trustees representing investors in non-agency MBS sued the city of Richmond, CA, this week to stop it from further implementing a plan to use eminent domain authority to seize and purchase performing underwater mortgages. Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank, acting as trustees for a group of investors that includes BlackRock, Inc., Pacific Investment Management and the government-sponsored enterprises, filed the lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco at the behest of certificate holders. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the “Richmond Seizure Program” unconstitutional and in violation of California laws, and to order city officials to end the program. Securitizers and investors are...

“It is difficult to project how many HARP-eligible loans will ultimately be refinanced,” the FHFA IG writes in a new report.