The Federal Housing Finance Agency disagrees with its Inspector General’s recommendation that the FHFA direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to assess the cost/benefit of requiring their sellers and servicers to provide independent, third-party confirmation on compliance with government-sponsored enterprise origination and servicing guidance. The IG audit, quietly issued late last week, noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as private mortgage-backed securities investors in the secondary mortgage market, require annual, independent assurance of counterparty compliance.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency can and should improve its oversight of Freddie Mac information technology investments, concluded a new audit by the agency’s official watchdog. Last week’s Inspector General audit noted that Freddie is making “substantial investments” in IT in order to better support its operations and reduce risk. The GSE’s planned IT expenditures over three years are expected to exceed $1 billion, the IG added.
Fannie Mae last week announced two significant executive staffing changes. Leslie Peeler, senior vice president in charge of Fannie Mae’s National Servicing Organization, is leaving the GSE for a senior position with IBM’s mortgage group. It’s unclear what exactly Peeler will do for the mortgage division of IBM, which includes Seterus, a subservicer that works for Fannie Mae. IBM rarely discloses any information about its mortgage division.
FHFA Principal Reduction Pilot Program. A bill filed by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, before Congress left town last month would create a shared-appreciation mortgage program in which banks would reduce the mortgage principal for eligible underwater homeowners. Under the Preserving American Homeownership Act, S. 2854, the pilot programs – to be established by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the FHA – would entitle banks to a portion of the increased value of the home when the market improves.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitized a total of $183.17 billion of single-family mortgages during the third quarter of 2014, continuing the improving momentum from the previous period, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis. Combined mortgage-backed securities issuance for the two GSEs rose 29.1 percent from the second quarter, marking the second straight increase from the record-low levels set during the first three months of 2014. On a year-to-date basis, GSE volume was down 53.6 percent from the first nine months of 2013.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitized a total of $183.17 billion of single-family mortgages during the third quarter of 2014, continuing the improving momentum during the previous period, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. Combined mortgage-backed securities issuance for the two government-sponsored enterprises rose 29.1 percent from the second quarter, marking the second straight increase from the record-low levels set during the first three months of 2014. On a year-to-date basis, GSE volume was down 53.6 percent from the first nine months of 2013. Although purchase mortgages continued to provide most of the ammunition for Fannie/Freddie business, the GSEs securitized...[Includes three data charts]
In a surprise ruling this week, a federal judge in Washington, DC, dismissed claims by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders challenging the Treasury Department’s 2012 “net-worth sweep” of nearly all the profits generated by the government-sponsored enterprises. Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency are empowered by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 to execute the “third amendment” of the preferred stock purchase agreement. The dismissal includes...
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is not on board with its Inspector General’s recommendation that the agency direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to assess the cost and benefit of requiring lenders to get independent, third-party confirmation of their compliance with government-sponsored enterprise origination and servicing guidance. The IG audit noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as private MBS investors in the secondary mortgage market, already require annual, independent assurance of counterparty compliance. “The annual assertions and audits have helped...
Achieving simplicity would be nearly impossible and getting clarity is something that remains to be seen in the FHA’s proposed draft for identifying underwriting defects, said compliance experts. The FHA has asked for industry feedback on a draft single-family loan quality assessment methodology, which is part of the agency’s Blueprint for Access strategy announced earlier this year to expand underserved borrowers’ access to mortgage credit. The proposed methodology is based...
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