Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lenders will be allowed to offer certain additional incentives to encourage more borrowers, particularly those underwater, to refinance under the Home Affordable Refinance Program, according to guidance issued by the two government-sponsored enterprises. The GSEs announced last week that lenders will be allowed to offer a “refinancing incentive” to underwater borrowers so they may obtain a lower payment or move to a more stable product or a shorter term. “As a result of lender inquiries, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has led...

Residential mortgages sourced through the correspondent channel and sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increased by 26 percent in 2012 compared to the year before.

First Guaranty is experiencing strong growth in its servicing business. Meanwhile, lenders worry about higher net worth requirements from the GSEs.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have developed a prototype of its standard securitization platform.

FHA is looking at $133 billion of troubled mortgages.

The FHFA is getting closer to announcing risk sharing bonds for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The mortgage banking industry’s record level of profitability may have peaked, as gain-on-sale margins have already begun to slip and more dark clouds appear on the horizon, according to industry analysts.

Lenders One, the nation’s largest mortgage cooperative, is telling its members they need to get their Fannie Mae servicing approvals by the end of January to be eligible for discounts under an affinity deal it has with the GSE.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it has settled one of its numerous lawsuits against non-agency mortgage-backed securities issuers for misrepresenting deals that were sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the mortgage market collapse.

The government-sponsored enterprises are working several different risk-transfer pilots and will soon issue the securities, according to officials at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Non-agency MBS investors appear eager for the securities, though a number of regulatory concerns remain, including complications with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Patrick Lawler, chief economist at the FHFA, said a risk-sharing transaction will hopefully be issued in the “not too distant future.” Speaking at the American Securitization Forum’s ASF 2013 conference this week in Las Vegas, Lawler and other officials with the FHFA and GSEs said risk-sharing transactions are a high priority this year. “The commitment is...