Under new management, the agency in charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is tacking their conservatorship in a different direction: focusing on preserving the two government-sponsored enterprises rather than driving them into shallow water. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt this week emphasized a focus on “the present” as he explained how he seeks to “reformulate” the agency’s past conservatorship goals to suit the housing finance market in the here and now. “I am...

The new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac policy on loan-seller representations and warranties will likely burn off some of the fog that’s made mortgage lenders skittish about the product they deliver to the two government-sponsored enterprises, but it won’t eliminate industry buyback concerns. The new policy tinkers at the edges of the buyback safe harbor for loans with acceptable payment history. Loans with two 30-day late payments in the first three years can get a buyback waiver if they are current at the 36-month mark; until now such loans would only get a waiver if they performed for five years. More significant is...

In case you didn’t notice, the price of Fannie and Freddie common rose about 5 percent Tuesday, after Watt spoke. In trading Wednesday, they were up again...

“This decision is motivated by concerns about how such a reduction could adversely impact the health of the current housing finance market,” said FHFA Director Mel Watt.

In his comments to reporters, FHFA Director Mel Watt did not rule out Fannie and Freddie engaging in principal reductions to help troubled consumers who have GSE loans.

In a wide-ranging speech – and in supporting documents – Mel Watt also vowed that the GSEs will continue to permit “compensating factors” when weighing a decision to guarantee mortgages where the debt-to-income ratio is north of 43 percent.

On the M&A front, a new report from Compass Point Research & Trading estimates that if PHH Corp. finds a way to sell its mortgage and fleet divisions, the stock should be worth $30 a share.

But don’t expect FHFA Director Mel Watt to mention g-fees or LLPAs when he makes his second public speech Tuesday at the Brookings Institution.

Nationstar made “right-party” contact with delinquent borrowers to determine their eligibility for HAMP in only 65 percent of such cases from March 2013 through February, the government found.

A portion of the loans being bought by SLS are tied to 11 non-agency mortgage-backed securities.