Mortgages modified by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac performed about the same for a year after modification but Freddie’s loans had a slightly worse performance starting some 18 months after modification, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report for the First Quarter of 2013 noted that Fannie and Freddie loans each had a 17 percent re-default rate six months after modification. The two GSEs were similarly tied at the 12-month mark, each posting a 24.4 percent re-default rate. Daylight begins to crack between the two GSEs at 18 months, with Fannie’s rate at an even 28.0 percent compared to Freddie’s 28.2 percent. At 24 months, Fannie’s mods saw a 29.4 percent re-default rate compared to Freddie’s 29.9 percent. The gap widens at 36 months when Fannie stood at 35.2 percent compared to Freddie’s 36.3 percent rate.

Roughly $495 billion of residential MBS and non-mortgage ABS were issued during the second quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS market analysis.

Well, at least the White House is happy. Fannie and Freddie turned over $66.4 billion to the government at the end of June, money that will help reduce the deficit.

Stonegate Mortgage, a fast growing lender, wants to go public. Meanwhile, thanks to the Fed, MSR sales could be massive.

The volume of new business flowing through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – a lagging indicator of primary market originations – declined modestly during the second quarter of 2013, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. The two government-sponsored enterprises securitized $337.74 billion of single-family mortgages during the second quarter, down 5.1 percent from the first three months of the year. The decline reversed an upward trend in quarterly GSE production that started in the third quarter of 2012. Even with the downturn, business at Fannie and Freddie was up 20.0 percent over the first six months of last year. The second-quarter decline clearly reflected...[Includes three data charts]

Hedge fund giant Cerberus Capital Management has quietly purchased a nonbank mortgage company based in Georgia and plans to use the firm to grow it into a national player in residential finance, according to industry sources close to the deal. One official inside of Cerberus confirmed the purchase to Inside Mortgage Finance as well as some of the growth plans, but declined to identify the company. Cerberus, which makes investments worldwide, operates dozens of funds, many of which target specific sectors or projects. The sale was facilitated...

The uphill climb for the Congressman who would be the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency got a little steeper last week following a lackluster confirmation performance that did not appear to win over Republican critics. Both in his prepared testimony and during questioning by members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, placed a heavy emphasis on his biographical details, but he was light on mortgage-finance policy specifics. Republicans pressed hard on his technical qualifications for the job of FHFA director. “The Housing and Economic Recovery Act clearly defines...

Japanese investors increased their holdings of agency MBS by $32 billion and even boosted their non-agency MBS investments by $1.4 billion.

When rates shot up quickly, were some MBS investors caught behind the eight-ball?

A former federal prosecutor, Linick is credited with creating the agency’s Office of Inspector General from the ground up.