“We need the light hand of government to set standards and systems for the market to move forward and private capital to return,” said Chris Katopis, executive director of the Association of Mortgage Investors, in testifying at a hearing this week in the House Financial Services Committee. While members of the committee appear to be nowhere near agreement on how to resolve the ongoing conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – or how they might be replaced – lawmakers, non-agency MBS issuers and investors all agreed on the need for new standards to increase non-agency MBS activity. The AMI called...

Stearns Lending, one of the fastest growing servicers in the U.S., has hired a new manager to help it with servicing acquisitions.

Residential lenders can rest easy: the GSEs aren't about to hike their net worth minimums. Also: the CFPB shows some love to banks.

ASF suggests that one way to reduce the market share of the GSEs is to hike guaranty fees once again.

Obtaining approvals to become a GSE seller/servicer can cost you, but think of the money you can make from owning servicing rights.

Expect quality control to be the single most critical component at the top of a long list of requirements for prospective lenders seeking to do business with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to agency officials and experts during an Inside Mortgage Finance webinar this week. The two government-sponsored enterprises are ready, willing and able to do business with new seller/servicer partners, if they are prepared to demonstrate, in a transparent and painstaking way, they are an opportunity to Fannie or Freddie and not a risk, National Union Mortgage President and CEO Bill Cosgrove told webinar attendees. “It’s really all about quality control. Every area of your organization has to be...

Just how healthy is the residential mortgage business these days? Answer: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are swamped with seller/servicer applications.

Private mortgage insurers may soon find themselves required to meet new eligibility standards if they want to continue doing business with the government-sponsored enterprises. In written testimony submitted to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco said the FHFA intends to set new criteria for private MI companies in doing business with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The revised private MI standards are among the agency’s priorities in 2013 and is part of the conservatorship strategic plan to ...

Although the HARP program had record volume in the first quarter, the program is showing almost no growth, according to exclusive survey figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance.

The Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency says the agency needs more examiners to keep an eye on the GSEs.