Under the original conservatorship agreement, the GSEs are allowed to maintain a small capital buffer, but within three years that buffer will be reduced to zero.

MBA believes the imposition of compensatory fees has morphed into a risk-sharing mechanism that shifts the costs of the prolonged foreclosure process from the GSEs onto mortgage servicers.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND, a co-sponsor of the Johnson-Crapo bill, also said the measure is moving forward. “This train is leaving the station,” she said. But whether it makes it to the floor of the Senate is another matter.

As far as pricing goes, if g-fees are raised Fannie and Freddie could earn more money – cash that ultimately would wind up at the Treasury Department, which sweeps most of their earnings each quarter.

A new trade group is showing true love for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Also, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is giving lenders some breathing room on the Qualified Mortgage/Ability-to-Repay rule.

Lobbyists tracking the bill now believe that a “negotiated” final measure will not be ready for a full committee vote until possibly mid-May.

Meanwhile, rumors abound that Fannie and Freddie may once again be looking at the possibility of selling some of its nonperforming mortgages…

FHFA notes that the legislation “requires a great deal of regulatory coordination but primarily places this responsibility on FMIC.”

Who gave up market share to nonbank lenders? The biggest decline was among banks with over $1 trillion in assets: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup.

Commercial mortgage securitization – including non-agency commercial MBS and multifamily securitizations by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae – declined by 22.1 percent in the first quarter of 2014.