There is widespread agreement that any substantive legislative remedy for the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won’t begin to happen until after the 2016 elections – if then – but lawmakers on Capitol Hill may manage to push through some minor adjustments in this Congress. The most likely legislation to pass would have an impact on just two individuals, the CEOs of Fannie and Freddie, who received sizable pay hikes early this year. In the Senate, S. 2036, the Equity in Government Compensation Act of 2015 would require the Federal Housing Finance Agency to suspend those compensation packages and roll them back to $600,000, their previous level. The bill was co-sponsored...

As rumors ran rampant over the past few weeks about the White House possibly looking to end GSE conservatorship before a new administration takes reign, Treasury and White House officials said this week there are no plans in the works to recapitalize and release the GSEs. “None of us should be misled by the increasingly noisy chorus of the advocates of recap and release,” said Michael Stegman, the White House’s senior policy director for housing, speaking at this week’s annual Mortgage Bankers Association conference. He added that doing so would “turn back the clock on the run-up to the crisis,” which he said would be “bad judgment and poor stewardship of taxpayer’s interest.”

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives voted 303-121 in favor of H.R. 3192, The Homebuyers Assistance Act. The legislation would provide the mortgage industry with a regulatory and legal safe harbor until Feb. 1, 2016, for mortgages originated in good faith under the CFPB’s Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure rule, otherwise known as TRID. The rule, designed to streamline the mortgage disclosures under the two laws, took effect Oct. 3, 2015, after nearly two years of notice from the CFPB. “The CFPB and House Republicans agree that a transitional period for TRID compliance which enables lenders to test their systems and ensures there is no large-scale disruption to mortgage lending is necessary,” said Rep. ...

The VA loan is a great option for veterans and servicemembers looking to purchase a new home. However, did you know it could also be paired with other home-financing programs to give the borrower a bigger bang for the buck? For instance, many real estate brokers and mortgage lenders are unaware that the VA loan can be used with certain products offered through state housing finance agencies to provide greater benefits to veterans and members of the military. The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) offers a tax credit program that allows VA borrowers to claim a percentage of the annual mortgage interest paid each year as a federal tax credit on their federal income tax returns. “It is not a tax deduction,” said Chad Patterson, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Traditions in Longmont, CO. “This can be a huge asset to the ...

Wall Street remains concerned about the level of standardization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac operations in a single-security environment where investors would be expected to treat them as completely interchangeable. The Structured Finance Industry Group this week reiterated its concern about the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s plan to avoid “complete alignment” of the two government-sponsored enterprises’ operations. In a May 2015 update on the single security, the FHFA said it would carefully assess business decisions that could lead to different prepayment speeds, but that buy-out and removal policies at the two GSEs are essentially the same. That isn’t...

Reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is likely not in the cards for this Congress. Speaking at a housing finance forum sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington this week, Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN, said he doesn’t expect any changes over the short term. “It’s going to be a while. It’s not going to happen over the next year and four months,” he said. “Both sides don’t want to address a tough issue.” The Republican from Tennessee added that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are avoiding the issue. Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, also speaking at the event, said while there may not be any legislation in the near future, he’s hopeful for some type of incremental movement.

As Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to unload distressed home loans, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, along with Rep. Michael Capuano, D-MA, led a protest last week urging the GSEs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to not keep selling the loans primarily to private-equity firms and hedge funds. They want to level the playing field so that nonprofit groups have a chance at the loans. Inside Mortgage Finance reported in 2013 that its sources noted that some buyers are turning to the nonperforming loan market as a “back door” way to buy homes. Capuano cited a recent New York Times article about private-equity firms buying troubled home mortgages and said the piece “highlights the troubling approach being taken by...

The nation’s seven active mortgage insurance firms expect to be fully compliant with the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s new capital eligibility rules by the yearend deadline – if they aren’t already – but now there’s a new worry: more regulations may be on the way. According to sources inside the MI sector, the FHFA is taking a close look at the use of reinsurance by private mortgage insurers with an eye toward capping it. “FHFA is worried that reinsurance firms may not pay,” said one MI official who spoke extensively on the topic under the condition he and his firm not be identified. “They want to reduce the credit you get for using reinsurance firms.” “The FHFA is trying...

The results of a new survey conducted for NeighborWorks America suggest that student loan debt is an obstacle for a growing share of potential homebuyers. The congressionally chartered organization with a focus on housing counseling also found confusion among potential homebuyers regarding the mortgage market. Some 57 percent of respondents said student loan debt was an obstacle to purchasing a home, up from a 49 percent share last year. The survey involved 1,000 adults. And 76 percent of respondents with student debt said the homebuying process is complicated, up from a 70 percent share in 2014. The greatest obstacle for potential homebuyers continues...

The full House of Representatives is expected to vote sometime this week on legislation that would provide a regulatory and legal safe harbor for mortgages originated under the CFPB’s Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule until Feb. 1, 2016. Speaking of the legislation at issue, H.R. 3192, the Homebuyers Assistance Act, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, said, “This bipartisan bill provides certainty to businesses that are trying to comply with the rule as well as an opportunity to work out any implementation issues that come up.” One industry observer who anticipates a “big margin” vote indicated he expects the bill will split rank-and-file Democrats from their caucus leadership. Meanwhile, industry readiness continues to ...